


Tattered Wings

by EchoingHowls



Series: A Flurry Of Feathers (A/B/O) [2]
Category: Banana Bus Squad, The Misfits (Podcast)
Genre: Alpha/Beta/Omega Dynamics, Alternate Universe - Gangsters, Anxiety, Body Dysphoria, CF 2: Electric Boogaloo, Cheating, Domestic Fluff, Drama, Drug Use, Dysphoria, Established Relationship, F/M, Fluff, Gender Dysphoria, Human Trafficking, LITERALLY, M/M, Nightmares, Non-Traditional Alpha/Beta/Omega Dynamics, Omega Trafficking, Panic Attacks, Polyamory, Running away from your problems, Secret Relationship, Trans Character, Updating tags as I go, soff
Language: English
Status: In-Progress
Published: 2020-05-17
Updated: 2021-01-24
Packaged: 2021-03-03 03:48:15
Rating: Explicit
Warnings: Graphic Depictions Of Violence, Major Character Death
Chapters: 22
Words: 33,438
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/24238303
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/EchoingHowls/pseuds/EchoingHowls
Summary: Note:Read Ceruean Feathers firstA life of gang violence is one not for the faint of heart.Relationships blossom but not all last.And there is no such thing as a perfect solution.Especially not with what is happening to Omegas everywhere.Following hearts and untangling thoughts.How long will the chaos last?(WARNING: This story is dark. There will be happy moments, but overall, it is darker than CF. Hope you enjoy!)
Relationships: Brock Barrus/Brian Hanby, Cam | GoodGuyFitz/Toby | TobyontheTele, Evan Fong/Jonathan | H2ODelirious, Evan Fong/Jonathan | H2ODelirious/Tyler | I AM WILDCAT, Evan Fong/Tyler | I AM WILDCAT, Jonathan | H2ODelirious/Tyler | I AM WILDCAT, Lui Calibre/Daithi De Nogla, Marcel | BasicallyIdoWrk/Scotty | fourzer0seven
Series: A Flurry Of Feathers (A/B/O) [2]
Series URL: https://archiveofourown.org/series/1749487
Comments: 42
Kudos: 51





	1. Prologue- Back to the City

**Author's Note:**

> That’s right guys, I’m back!  
> I will warn you: I will not start updating until I’ve written at least 5 chapters because then I know the plot I have planned out will work 100% (I am writing chapter 3 right now).  
> So please have a bit of patience, and I hope you enjoy the prologue.  
> <3

Rain pattered evenly on concrete and glass panes as the storm descended on the city.  
Teens who had forgotten umbrellas attempted to hide under their small wings, while others with small horns tousled in the mud.  
Neon signs glowed bright and flashy in the dreary sky, the nearby puddles reflecting the blinding red and blue.  
A car shot through the water, splashing an unfortunate passerby who shouted at the expensive car.

Sirens screeched after the car, but it’s flashing lights and annoying sound lost the car to traffic soon enough.  
When the coast was clear, the car crept out of an alleyway where it had taken cover.

A small bird took off from where it had been perched above, soaring past a tall building where a face was leaning against the window.  
A tear rolled down his face as the smell of rain brought back memories.  
He rolled a small piece of horn in his palm, his fingers mindlessly tracing the lines in it.

“Smitty! We got dinner!”  
White wings spread as he jumped, heaving a sigh as his wings settled back around him.  
“Coming!”  
He called back, glancing at his project that laid at the foot of his bed.  
He wiped his tears, tucking the antler piece into a cloth that was then placed in his nightstand.  
He stepped carefully around cerulean feathers, then began to make his way downstairs where everyone was gathered.

“Happy birthday!!”  
Smitty jumped again at the shouts from smiling faces, before his own face split into a grin.  
“Damn, and here I was thinking none of you remembered.”  
“Of course we remembered!”  
A jay-wing cheered, running over to wrap Smitty up in a hug. The dove-wing laughed into the wing-full of azure feathers before he was being led toward a cake.  
As his family began to sing (awfully and terribly off key), he couldn’t stop smiling.  
He could smell the vanilla and cherries that was a nod to his own scent from the cake, and all the scents of the gang wrapped around him.  
He was home.  
He was with his family.  
And even though it had only been a year, he was getting better.  
Of course he loved John, but he also knew John would have wanted him to continue living.  
To continue loving, even if he wasn’t there yet.

Presents were given, cake was eaten, and they partied until the early hours of the morning.  
Many of them would have hangovers, but it was kinda worth it for the drunken gaming and dance sessions they had.  
Smitty still hadn’t fallen to sleep when he was back at the window, letting some of the air outside seep in so he could smell it.  
Smell the rain as it fell from the clouds before it mixed with the smog of the city.  
He was still a bit tipsy, so maybe that’s why he raised his cup to the skies before throwing it back.

He had a feeling this was going to be a good year.


	2. Chapter 1- Behind Closed Doors

A blue wing fluffed itself from where the feathers had been stiff with sleep, the Omega stretching with a yawn before he hummed happily.  
He turned to look behind him, where his mate was still shrouded in blankets, one of them tangled in his antlers.  
He smiled at the Alpha, pressing a kiss to messy hair before he made his way downstairs.  
He could already smell pancakes and syrup, which made his steps quicker than before.  
Brock was humming happily as he danced around the kitchen, his lemon and creme scent tangled happily with his mate’s who sat content on the counter.   
Jonathan scurried toward the counter and plopped his chin on the cold granite as he let the smell of pancakes wash over him.  
Brock spotted him (blue feathers were hard to hide) and his smile widened with his wings.  
“Good morning Jon! You’re up early.”  
“Mmm you know I’ve gotten better with my sleep schedule.”  
Brock nodded as he added some blueberries to the batter.  
“Well, you better get your mate on a better one too.”

Jonathan couldn’t help the blush that appeared at the word “mate”, but he hummed pleasantly before muttering,  
“I’ll try.”

***

Evan blearily blinked his eyes open from the warmth of his blankets, Jonathan’s scent fading from where he had most likely already left for breakfast.  
He smiled at the pine that tangled and wrapped around the lavender and vanilla, happily reminding him of his beloved mate.  
Just as he was drifting back to a happy sleep, the smell of the tide drifted from under the door.  
His eyes opened.  
He could smell it growing stronger, like the waves on the beaches were lapping at the pine trees and begging them to come outside the door-  
Evan huffed as he threw off the covers.

When he opened the door, he already expected Tyler to be leaning on the doorframe, that dumb smirk on his face.  
“So…”  
“So?”  
Evan asked back, crossing his arms as he cocked a brow at Tyler.  
The longhorn glanced up and down the hall before he grabbed Evan’s wrist dragging the other Alpha into his room and locking the door.  
Evan felt his breath hitch when Tyler turned back toward him.

“You already know what I’m going to ask,”  
Tyler pressed, leaning against the door behind him. Evan snarled under his breath.  
“No! I haven’t asked him yet!”  
Tyler hmphed before he leaned close to Evan, a smirk already playing on his lips as his breath carrassed Evan’s ear.  
“Why not?”  
Evan fought the shudder that slid down his spine.  
“B-because I just… haven’t found a good time.”  
“Hmm…”  
A growl laced Tyler’s hum, and Evan could tell he found enjoyment in what his voice did to the elk-horn.  
“Well if I were you, I would find some time today. Then we can… talk things over tonight.”  
Evan pressed his nails into his arm to prevent his fingers from twitching.  
“You know this will affect him too. You can’t just-“  
“We’ve has this discussion before,”  
Tyler soothed, slinking behind Evan and beginning to give the other Alpha a massage.  
“Yeah. We were speaking on much less _touchy_ terms.”  
Tyler was quiet for a moment as he kneaded a tough knot, Evan hissing before the longhorn stopped.  
“I’m getting impatient.”  
Tyler was back at Evan’s ear, the elk unable to prevent the gasp that made him chuckle.  
“You said you would be patient that night…”  
“The whole reason this is happening is because of _that night_.”  
Evan was quiet, chewing on his bottom lip before he whirled around to face Tyler, ignoring how close the two Alpha’s were.  
“What if this isn’t what we want?”  
“We’ve gone over that too,”  
Tyler smiled, tracing a finger over Evan’s antlers. Evan ignored the way his heart skipped.  
“Brock’s meds, aka ‘truth serum’. Both of us were too high off our rockers to even think of lying.”  
Evan hated that Tyler was right.  
Or… did he?  
“What if he doesn’t agree?”  
Tyler huffed a bit, obviously a tad annoyed with all the questions.  
“As we’ve _talked about_ ,”  
Tyler emphasized,  
“This stops. We take our separate paths and learn to grow without feelings for one another.”

Evan snarled before he huffed.  
“Fine. I’ll talk to him today.”  
Tyler’s smirk doubled in intensity as he hummed happily.  
“Alrighty. You better go and roll around in your mate’s sheets-“  
Tyler inched somehow closer, their breath mingling.  
“You smell like me.”

Evan wanted to lurch forward.  
To seal their lips like they had that night.  
But he needed to talk to Jonathan.  
Because that lovely jay was his _mate_ goddamnit, and he could resist himself long enough to not cause a wedge in their relationship. 

Evan spun around, forcing his blush to retreat down his neck as he left Tyler’s room and flopped onto his and Jon’s bed.   
He didn’t need to see Tyler to know how excited the Alpha really was.  
And to think it had already almost been two months since they made out in the med bay-

Evan groaned. That was so stupid.  
That was beyond stupid.  
He had a mate!  
And… he would come clean.  
Over lunch perhaps.  
Evan heaved a deep breath, allowing the pine forest dappled with vanilla and lavender to hold him.  
He could smell the tide as it approached the door again, but it soon faded away.  
Evan was proud of Tyler.  
He had followed his promise of waiting until Evan had talked to Jonathan before making any moves but,  
Tyler was right.  
He had a right to be impatient after two months of no word.

And so Evan lounged around his room for a few minutes longer (because he’s lazy) before rolling out of bed (and definitely not making sure he didn’t smell like Tyler).  
When he trudged down the stairs, the first eyes he caught were icy.   
A prayer of hope hid behind the iris.  
Then he found his mate, who was happily finishing his latest plate of pancakes when he saw Evan. He ran over to his Alpha and wrapped his arms around his neck.  
“Good morning sleeping beauty,”  
Jonathan mumbled against Evan’s lips, the Alpha happy to be able to kiss his love.  
Well- one of them.

“You slept a bit later than usual, long night?”  
Brock called from where he was seated in Brian’s lap, the Alpha resting his head on Brock’s shoulder.   
Evan shrugged, fighting the urge to glare at Tyler.

“Oooo only a shrug for an answer. Get this man a coffee!”  
Smitty slid toward Evan with a molten hot cup, smiling before handing it to the elk-horn. Evan scoffed as he took it, sipping despite knowing it was way too hot.  
Jonathan watched the Omega fondly as Evan recovered from his burn, then they turned to each other.

“I need to talk to you.”

The mates blinked when they realized they’d both said the same thing, Jonathan giggling as Evan tilted his head,  
“About what babe?”  
Jon hummed before saying,  
“Over lunch?”  
“Ah, just where I wanted to talk to you.”  
“Great. Now we get to have a serious lunch,”  
Jonathan feigned grumpiness, his lip pouty as the corners of his mouth quipped upwards.  
“Don’t worry, it’ll be on the roof and with pizza. How serious can it get?”  
They shared another kiss, and then it was countdown till lunch.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> <3


	3. Chapter 2- On the Rooftop

Jonathan felt giddy every time he glanced at the clock.  
It was _almost noon_ when he and Evan had agreed to get lunch.  
But with that excitement came the anxiety of what he was going to ask.  
Because… he’ll be honest.  
It was a big deal.  
Like… a big change in their relationship if Evan agreed.  
And he still needed to iron out a few kinks- but he wanted permission from Evan first.  
Because that’s what mates do, right?  
Talk before committing to anything drastic in their relationship.  
Communication is key.

Jonathan made his way up to the roof at noon, Evan getting the pizza from the door.  
He smiled as the spring air toyed with his wing. He opened the cerulean feathers to the sun, and if he closed his eyes, he could feel both of them being pulled in the breeze.  
Opening his eyes, he could almost see his feathers twitching on both sides of his vision.  
Almost.  
He closed his wing when he heard the door close behind him, smiling when he saw his mate holding the box of pizza.  
The Omega sat on the lawn chairs they had moved up there, and Evan was quick to join him in the other.  
The box was placed on the ground as they both took a slice.

They let the wind whistle around them for a few minutes before Evan began.  
“So,”  
“So,”  
Jonathan repeated, smiling at his mate.  
Evan smiled back, and then Jonathan said-

“I think we should bring Smitty into the relationship.”  
“I think we should bring Tyler into the relationship.”

They stared at one another as the words processed.  
Again, spoken at the same time.  
Jonathan was the one who broke the silence.  
“Tyler?”  
“Why Smitty?”  
“No, we are talking about Tyler first.”  
Jonathan held his ground as he stared at Evan, and the Alpha sighed.  
“Fine. I’ve been talking with Tyler, and we both think that he would be a good addition to the relationship.”  
“Without me?”  
“We haven’t done anything. We’ve talked and nothing else. We wanted to talk to you first.”  
Jonathan leaned back in his chair with a scoff.  
“So that’s why you smelled like him.”  
“What?”  
Jonathan sat back up, now glaring at his mate.  
“Only talked huh? Why was his scent all over you that night you two were alone in the med bay?... oh god… you two were _alone_ -“  
“Jon, please let me explain-“  
“Oh please do! I am thoroughly interested in the explanation.”  
“We were both high on pain meds, and…and I don’t want to lie to you… we kissed.”  
Jonathan stared at Evan.  
A sudden pain flared through his left wing, and he reached to grab it but found nothing but air.  
Oh. Right. It’s not there.  
“Fuck-“  
He gasped, running his fingers over his messy scar.  
“Jon? Are you-“  
Evan reached out but Jonathan stopped him.  
“Don’t… don't touch me.”  
Hurt flashed across Evan’s face, but it quickly boiled into anger.

“Well, you wanted to bring Smitty in, what's that all about?”  
Jonathan scoffed, leaving his scar alone to turn toward Evan.  
“All it was was I started developing a crush on Smitt. I haven’t ‘talked to him’ or anything.”  
Jonathan used heavy air quotes on “talked to him”, and Evan visibly winced.  
“What the fuck do you see in the gang leader anyway?”  
“I was the gang leader when you started to crush on me-“  
“I crush on a lot of people I grow close to Evan, that’s what being a demisexual demiromantic _means_.”  
Evan was quiet for a bit before he said,  
“Tyler has saved both of us countless times. He’s always admired your determination and perseverance, why don’t we give it a try?”

Jonathan huffed, his wing fluffing up,  
“Fine. How about this. I’ll talk to Smitty, because I wanted to talk to _you_ before I made any decisions,”  
He gave Evan a pointed glare for that before continuing,  
“And then if he agrees, you go on a date with Smitty, and I’ll go on a date with Tyler, and we’ll go from there.”

“What if Smitty says no? Will you still go on a date with Tyler?”  
Jonathan felt his wings- er- wing, slump and he looked down at his half-eaten pizza.  
“Then I will still go on a date with him, yes.”  
They were quiet for a bit before Evan sighed.  
“Jonathan, this is your relationship too. We are mates and if you want to keep it just us, then I am perfectly fine with that. Hell, I told Tyler that if you said no, we would stop talking and would never be alone together. Because I love you too much to jeopardize our relationship.”

Jonathan put his pizza back in the box and shifted his chair closer to Evan.  
He rested his head on his mate’s shoulder and wrapped his wing around them as best he could.  
“...Sorry I got angry.”  
Evan scoffed and laced their fingers together.  
“You have every right to get angry. You’re right. I should have talked to you first because we are mates, and that means we aren’t two individuals, but a combo deal.”  
Jon giggled at the joke as Evan continued.  
“So even though we have our own lives and our own wishes, we, and mostly I, need to be better about talking to each other. Because it doesn’t just affect me now, it affects you too.”  
Evan pressed a kiss to Jonathan’s forehead and the Omega smiled.  
Their scents were mingled and dancing in the breeze around them, and Jon felt his nerves settle at the strong pine.

They sat there, together, for several minutes until Evan’s stomach growled for pizza and they began to eat again.  
“So, when do you think you’ll talk to Smitty?”  
“Mmm, I can talk to him as soon as we finish. Or maybe after dinner.”  
“Your choice,”  
Evan said with a smile.  
Jon smiled back, and they relaxed in the sun as birds flocked overhead. The avians made Jonathan’s missing wing feel sore, but he ignored it to try and focus on the pizza.


	4. Chapter 3- “Jo(h)n…”

When Jonathan and Evan left the roof, the jay-wing headed straight for the scent of milk and cherries.  
He didn’t want to do this.  
He didn’t want to walk up to one of his closest friends and say, “hey man so I have a crush on you and I know I have a mate but I’ve talked to him and-“  
Ugh.  
Jonathan cut himself off, glad he wasn’t in front of the dove-wing yet.

He let some thoughts trickle through his mind, maybe he could say this or maybe this would be better-  
And then he ran into white plumage and why was the smell of milk and cherries so strong?

“Jonathan?”  
The jay froze as he realized he had run into Smitty, and a blush rushed to his face.  
“Ah um h-hey Smitt, can we um, talk?”  
The dove-wing smiled brightly before nodding,  
“Of course!”  
Jon smiled back and led the other Omega upstairs, where he knew nobody would be.  
“So, what’s up?”  
Smitty asked, leaning against the wall. Jonathan grabbed his wing and started preening the azure feathers as he began.  
“So… fuck um I’ll just start with this. I have a crush on you-“  
“What?”  
“And hear me out-“  
Jonathan stopped the dove who was staring at him with wide eyes, pearly wings fluffed a bit.  
“I-I-I’ve talked to Evan and he’s willing to-“  
“No.”  
“What?”  
Jonathan’s train of thought stopped cold as he looked at Smitty, who was now fidgeting uncomfortably.  
“I-I’m really sorry Jonathan, I just- I can’t right now. It still feels like it’s been too soon with John and-and…”  
Tears began to well up in Smitty’s eyes and Jonathan felt his wing droop.  
“Hey hey, I-I’m sorry. I know it’s been really hard for you, so I’ll just continue to be your friend, if that’s what you want.”  
Smitty sniffled, then nodded. Jon smiled and brought the dove-wing in for a hug, wrapping his blue feathers around the both of them.

***

Evan nearly made it to the trash before the smell of the ocean was back beside him.   
“So?”  
“So…”  
Evan sighed after he trailed off, rubbing his neck as he threw away the pizza box.  
“So, he agreed to go on a date with you.”  
“So it’s a yes?”  
“No-“  
Evan winced at how excited Tyler had gotten before he deflated.  
“It’s a, ‘not yet’.”  
Evan finished, looking up at the longhorn.   
“We talked about more things than just us,”  
Evan explained, motioning between Tyler and himself,  
“And we need to get those things figured out before I can give you a sure answer.”  
Tyler paused, biting the inside of his cheek before he whispered,  
“You guys aren’t… breaking up, are you?”  
“No… no, we’re not.”  
Tyler heaved a sigh of relief before he scoffed,  
“Fuck. If I had broken you guys up I would have never forgiven myself.”  
“Well, you won’t have to worry about that.”  
“I’m glad.”  
Tyler purred, and Evan shuddered, much to Ty’s enjoyment he was sure.   
“Well, I’ll leave you alone until I get the affirmative. But please don’t make me wait longer than two weeks.”  
“I won’t,”  
Evan promised, smiling at Tyler. The longhorn hummed happily, but he did walk away, leaving the elk feeling wistful.

As evening fell on the city, the sky turned vibrantly gold and pink. The gold streamed across every surface and the pink stained the clouds and ocean.  
Flowers were beginning their bloom as the sun descended the sky, the moon bringing purple and indigo into the color pallet as the bright colors muddled to blue.  
A few Omegas zipped through the skies from work, eager to get home to whatever awaited them.

And when Evan walked into his bedroom, a part of him had expected the nest that was piled onto the bed.  
He could smell the anxious vanilla and nervous lavender from the hall, but it seemed to triple in strength once he entered.   
“Jon? Babe? Can I come in?”  
He received a quiet “yes” from the pile of blankets and pillows before he carefully climbed in.  
When he saw Jonathan, he strengthened his scent. The Omega was curled in on himself, his wing bound tight to his side, however, when he smelled Evan’s pine he seemed to calm down.  
They sat in the quiet, Evan letting Jonathan smell him as the Omega slowly cuddled up to him.  
Eventually, Jonathan has his nose in the crook of Evan’s neck, and Evan was running soothing fingers down feathers.  
“I talked to Smitty.”  
Jonathan muttered finally. Evan hummed in acknowledgment as Jon continued.  
“He said no. O-Obviously. But I just feel bad about digging up memories about John.”  
“I know you didn’t mean to,”  
Evan purred, wishing best had his own wings to wrap around Jon,  
“I’m sure everything will be okay. And I can remind the gang about not calling you Jon in front of him if that will make you feel better.”  
Jonathan cooed, nuzzling closer to his Alpha,  
“No, they’re still doing really well. I haven’t heard anyone slip up in about a month.”  
“Well, that’s good news at least.”

Evan held Jonathan as the Omega traversed his thoughts, listening to the jay-wing’s heartbeat until he spoke again.  
“I’ll talk to-to Tyler tomorrow. Figure out when or where or whatever for the-the date.”  
“Okay… would you like me to go with you?”  
Jon hummed,  
“I dunno. I guess not. I want to see what he’s like with-without you, y’know? Make sure he-he cares about me as much as he does you.”  
“That’s a good idea.”  
Jon cooed at the praise, smiling as he closed his eyes.  
“Y-you don’t mind if we sleep in the-the nest, do you?”  
“Not at all, my love.”  
Evan purred, tucking Jon close and making sure they were both comfortable.

Evan listened to Jonathan’s heart as it began to slow, along with his breathing. He smiled as cerulean feathers twitched with the Omega’s dream and he made little coos and twitters in his sleep.  
Evan could just barely see the window in the nest, but he could make out the quiet glitter of stars through the lights of the city.

He could imagine himself opening wings and flying above it as the moon watched him with her silver face. He would soar and watch the city crawl beneath him.   
Jonathan would be beside him, having both of his wings and being able to dance through the clouds with Evan.  
And Tyler would be below them, waiting with open arms to love them and preen their feathers...

Evan didn’t realize he had fallen asleep until the sun glinted through the fabrics of the now messy nest.  
Jonathan was still sprawled beside him, but when Evan sat up he was rudely made aware of the antlers on his head.  
It annoyed him more than usual.  
Maybe it was the dream he had.  
Evan huffed, detangling himself from the nest as the birds sang outside the window.  
He pressed a kiss to his mate’s messy bedhead before he glanced at the mirror.  
He couldn’t see his reflection, so he moved to stand in front of it.

He saw… himself. Obviously. He would be worried if he saw someone else.  
But for some reason, the horns seemed out of place.  
For so long he had dismissed the annoyance/ hatred of his horns as a lack of self-confidence, but now he felt like he was happy with how everything in the mirror looked except his horns.  
A part of him also felt like he was missing wings.  
Wait- where did that come from?

Sure, there had been times when he was living with Brock that he hoped his horns would stop growing and he would get wings instead but… every Alpha thought that right?  
Wing jealousy, that was a thing.  
And he was sure everyone experienced wing jealousy, who wouldn’t want to fly?  
Evan nodded, looking away from the mirror.  
It felt… uncomfortable to be looking in it any longer.

He left a sleeping Jonathan and headed downstairs, not realizing how early in the morning it was until he realized not even Brock was awake yet.  
He figured someone was still awake, someone had to keep an eye on the cameras and that meant someone had a trashier sleeping schedule than himself, which was saying something.

Nevertheless, Evan went out to the balcony to take in the early morning Los Santos.  
It was 6:23 am when he checked the time, and the early baby pink sunset was a testament to that. He could hear birds twittering and making small sounds like the Omegas he knew, and it made him smile.  
He wondered if he could sound like that.   
He tried a few feeble tweets but quickly gave up.  
He sounded like an idiot.  
Evan sighed as he leaned against the balcony.  
In the distance, he saw a young Omega take off from a roof.  
He felt a distinct pull to join them in the sky.

Evan shook his head.  
Fuck. Maybe he should go back to sleep?  
He turned and went back inside, but instead of going upstairs, he flopped onto the couch.  
He turned on Netflix and flicked to a random show, letting himself get dragged into it, forcing his thoughts to the back of his mind once more.


	5. Chapter 4- First Date

Jonathan picked at his gas station breakfast burrito, thankful for Marcel and Scotty for picking it up but not very happy for his anxious stomach taking away his appetite.  
A few needles felt like they were pressed into his left wing, and he tried to pull it toward him before remembering his absence.  
His scar came to life with an ache, but he tried to ignore it by eating some of the bacon in his burrito.

Evan was still sprawled out on the couch, whatever show he had been watching paused by the “are you still watching?” message.   
The Alpha was snoozing softly, and Jon distantly wondered if the elk’s poor sleep was because of him.  
The sudden smell of the ocean’s waves made Jonathan look up from his breakfast, spotting the longhorn as he dug through the pile of foil-wrapped burritos.   
His wing twitched with anxiety as he stared at the Alpha.  
He knew what he needed to do, and he knew it would be best to get it over.

When Tyler moved to go sit down to eat, Jonathan moved from where he was leaning on the counter to call the Alpha over.  
“Can I um… talk to you?”  
“Hm?”  
Tyler perked up from his food, offering the jay a friendly smile before shrugging,  
“Sure!”

Jon smiled back, ignoring the curious glances from the rest of the gang as he led Tyler away from the others.  
He forced himself not to acknowledge the milk and cherries that came from a groggy dove-wing as he stumbled to the kitchen for food.  
“So… I want to-to go on a date today.”  
“Oh,”  
Tyler quipped, surprise taking over his face before he smiled,  
“I would like that.”

Jon smiled and felt a blush crawl up his cheeks, picking at the foil around his burrito as he continued,  
“So I was thinking of a café? We could do it for lunch, or we could even just go to the roof right now if you wanted-“  
“Whatever you want Jonathan,”  
Tyler soothed, a purr slight in his voice as he spoke,  
“I don’t want to make you uncomfortable.”

Jon shifted his feet and fluffed his wing, before sheepishly smiling.  
“Um… I’ll be honest and say I kind of want to get it over with. Roof?”  
“Sounds good to me.”

Jonathan nodded and followed Tyler as he began to head to the roof, both of them still holding their burritos.  
They grabbed the picnic chairs from by the door and pulled them outside, plopping down to watch the city as it bustled below them.  
Jon couldn’t help opening his wing to let the wind tousle his feathers.

“Your feathers look really nice, especially in this light.”  
Jon jumped at the compliment, turning toward the longhorn with a dark blush.  
“D-Damn flirting Alpha,”  
Tyler laughed and relaxed into his chair as he shot back,  
“This is supposed to be a date, right? One of us has gotta flirt at least a little bit.”  
Jonathan chittered and closed his wing before settling into his chair, taking a bite of his burrito as Tyler did the same.

After a few minutes, Tyler smirked and said,  
“So, what’s your favorite thing about Evan?”  
Jon nearly choked on his food before he sputtered out,  
“What?”  
“I think mine is how flustered he gets after a compliment. Like he doesn’t expect to be told how amazing he is, and yet I don’t think I can tell him enough praises to express how I see him.”  
Jonathan let the longhorn’s words mull over his thoughts before he smiled.  
“I think… I think my favorite is how he lets me be as touchy as I want. Like n-nothing dirty, but j-just holding hands or cuddling, he doesn’t get annoyed with how clingy I can-can get.”  
Tyler hummed, smiling as he watched the sun glitter off the ocean in the distance.  
“That does sound nice.”

“I-I would say I think he needs to-to eat less pizza, but I am just as bad.”  
Tyler laughed at that, and Jon felt some of the walls he hadn’t realized he had put up begin to lower.  
“I would also tell you two to eat better, but I’ve known that stubborn elk for so long I’ve given up. I’ll just feed you both pizza.”  
Jonathan giggled at the mental image, but then he hummed and- fuck it, he was going to take a few risks.  
“What’s your-your favorite thing about me?”  
“Ah,”  
Tyler smirked, glancing at the jay,  
“I should have known you would ask.”  
Jonathan giggled as Tyler watched him carefully, a spark in his eyes as he chewed his burrito before saying,  
“I think it’s how well you adapt. Like, after the Incident, you’ve become such a powerful member of the gang. You take your trials and use them to your benefit, and that’s something I want to get better at.”  
Jon was a blushing mess at the praise, and maybe he shouldn’t have asked, but he did feel his heart slowly become more comfortable with the thought of Tyler joining him and Evan.

“What about me? Your favorite thing about me?”  
“That-that Evan likes you.”  
Tyler cackled at the immediate, blunt, response and eventually retorted,  
“I am nothing but your mate’s friend huh?”  
Jonathan was beaming when he shrugged, swallowing a mouthful of the burrito.  
“Maybe we’ll have to-to spend more time together and-and I can find something to like about you.”  
“Youch,”  
Tyler snickered, crumpling his wrapper as he finished his food.  
“Although, I take it that you’re willing to try this again?”  
Jonathan stared at the last few bites of his breakfast he had and hummed,  
“I-I think so.”  
“That’s good enough for me.”  
Jon glanced at the Alpha to see his smile as he watched the city below them, and the Omega smiled too.

***

Evan groaned when he was nudged from sleep.  
“Come onnnn Evan,”  
Came a familiar voice, along with the smell of vanilla and lavender,  
“It-it’s time to get up.”  
Evan groaned again, louder this time.   
There was another prod to his back, this one a lot more forceful, and the smell of iron clung to his nose.  
“Come on ye lazy ass, I want to play Mario Kart and yer takin’ all the space.”  
Evan huffed at Brian’s words, but he did sit up. He rubbed his eyes as he felt gentle feathers on his shoulder, along with quiet words of, “meet me upstairs” before the vanilla and lavender was fading.  
Evan sighed, watching as the game was started up before he stood and stretched, allowing his groggy feet to follow the scent of his mate.

When he climbed the stairs, he saw Jonathan leaning against the wall, rubbing his hoodie’s sleeves between his fingers until he saw Evan.  
“Hey Mr- Mr. Tired, did you get enough sleep?”  
Evan only hummed a response before he tried to rest his head on Jon’s shoulder, but his horns hit the wall.  
He grumbled an unintelligible curse before standing straight and yawning,  
“What didya wanna talk about?”  
“Tyler.”  
Evan perked up at the name and cocked an eyebrow.  
“Did you talk to him?”  
“S-sorta, we had a mini d-date on the roof for breakfast.”  
“Oh! How’d that go?”  
Jon paused before he answered,  
“Good. I...I think we can try this-this thing. Baby steps though.”  
“Baby steps,”  
Evan agreed, leaning in for a brief kiss with Jonathan.   
“I love you.”  
The Omega smiled as he mumbled,   
“I love you too,” against the Alpha’s lips.

Jon mentioned he was going to try and join a game, and so Evan wished him luck before the jay disappeared down the steps.  
The elk-horn pulled out his phone and sent a text, smiling when he saw the recipient’s head appear from the stairs only thirty seconds later.

“You came quickly.”  
“Always for my favorite elk,”  
Tyler quipped, stopping a few steps from Evan,  
“So, Jon talked to you?”  
Evan nodded before saying,  
“He said he's willing to give it a shot, so whatever magic you put on him worked.”  
Tyler scoffed as he closed the space between them.  
“Please, the only ‘magic’ I used is the same that I use on you.”  
Evan smirked, inching closer so that their breath mingled,  
“I wonder what other spells you have…”  
Tyler growled under his breath, and Evan grinned as his wrist was grabbed and he was dragged toward Tyler’s door.  
When the door was shut and locked, Tyler rounded onto Evan like prey.  
It made the Alpha’s knees weak.

“I’ve wanted to do this for so long…”  
Tyler trailed off, pinning Evan against the wall. The elk’s heart hammered as he flushed, the longhorn smirking before he pressed their lips together.  
Evan kissed back eagerly, grabbing a fistful of Tyler’s shirt to pull them closer together. When they broke apart they were both breathless.  
“N-not much farther than this,”  
Evan managed to say as he locked eyes with the gang boss,  
“Jon said baby steps.”  
The longhorn nodded, pressing his nose to the crook of Evan’s neck and taking a deep breath.  
The longhorn visibly relaxed before he let his breath graze over Evan’s ear,  
“I’m fine with just being able to kiss you.”  
Evan smiled before locking their lips together, allowing Ty’s salty scent to wash over his pine forest.   
When they tried to pull apart, their antlers locked.  
Evan froze and began to curse, trying to tilt his head as he mumbled,  
“I fucking hate these things.”  
Tyler carefully maneuvered the elk (because he had more points) and released them before commenting,  
“We’d better be careful we don’t get caught like that.”  
Evan scoffed as he agreed, and in the back of his mind, he wished for a different solution than just being careful.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Thank you for reading <3


	6. Chapter 5- Rescue Mission

That evening, Jon didn’t comment on the distinct ocean smell that clung to Evan, but the Omega did make sure to re-scent his mate.   
And only a few hours later, the alarm began to blare.

Everyone grumbled as they were woken up by Lui over the speakers they had installed in the hall, and those that didn’t leave their rooms after a couple of minutes got a nice visit from a tired Marcel who literally dragged them from bed ( ~~Nogla~~ ). 

When everyone reached the armory, a somewhat alert Anthony stood at the head of the room as the groggy gang began to suit up.  
“Alright everyone, we got the Canaries at our newest port, probably jealous that we got it before they could or some shit.   
Anyway, they are trying to sneak a shipment of Omegas while we get the place set up.”

Jon glanced at Smitty and saw the dove flinch.   
Anthony continued,  
“Of course, because this is a rescue instead of a defense mission, we need to be careful with our bullets to make sure none of them are harmed.”

Tyler moved next to Anthony, giving the Beta a nod before beginning,  
“Jonathan, Scotty, you two are going to sneak in as usual. I know you’re all tired, so I’m going to remind you that the Canaries have been sending Betas out on the field as of late, so you two should be able to slip in easily. Just remember your scent-blockers and to hide your wing in that suspicious-as-fuck jacket.”

Jon scoffed as he pulled out the trenchcoat, a safer way to hide his feathers than what he did as a teenager, and then sprayed the beige-smelling scent-blockers on his wrists and neck. This was the only good thing about losing a wing; his scent was weaker so he could get closer to the action.

Tyler dished out his orders for everyone else, and then they all climbed into the vans.  
Evan wished Jonathan good luck and a kiss on the cheek, and they exchanged a promise to be safe before climbing into separate cars.

Jonathan ensured his earpiece fit correctly as the van jostled around, Scotty across from him and beside the door so they could leap out first. Anthony stopped the van a few meters away from where the Canaries had been spotted, and the two slipped out.  
They found the rival gang fairly easily, (because it was near impossible to hide the intense Alpha scent that followed them) and when they spotted the van-full of Omegas they joined the crowd of Alphas and Betas to grab one.

Jonathan kept his collar popped as the Canary from the van kept an eye on him, but he and Scott were able to fall into ranks easily enough.  
The first time Jon had done this, he was petrified.  
They had known his scent was weaker after he lost his wing, but they still weren’t sure how long the scent blockers would last or if it would be enough.  
And that was when they realized how many experiments the Canaries were running on their members.  
Most importantly, there were Betas in the ranks, along with Alphas that had wings, Betas that had been given some poor transplants that left them with one horn or wing, and other mismatched second genders with amenities.  
There were still no Omegas though, they seemed strictly product.

As Jonathan and Scotty neared the ship where the Omegas were being loaded, they spotted Tyler and Brian hidden nearby. Tyler gave the jay-wing a nod, and the Omega acknowledged him with another nod before he slipped inside.  
There were two guards inside the ship beside the door, along with the few Alphas who were dropping off Omegas. Jon pulled out his pistol, Scotty doing the same as they fired at all the Canaries before they could react.  
The Omegas, almost all of which were blindfolded, jumped and whimpered at the gunshots. Scotty took the door and took down any Canary that came in as gunfire showered from outside.

Jonathan began untying as many Omegas as he could, Tyler and Brian barging in and helping after a minute or two.  
Eventually, the gunfire ceased outside, and everyone came in to start getting the Omegas out of the shipping container and to safety.

Brock patched up any that were wounded, (which wasn’t too many thank goodness), and many of them took to the skies as soon as they could.

Jonathan watched another jay-wing fly off as soon as she felt the open air on her feathers, and felt a pang in his phantom wing.  
He held back a hiss and turned away from the flock of Omegas, instead turning his attention to Evan who was talking with Tyler.  
They were discussing calling their newest ally to come clean up the mess, the Lunch Club would probably be grateful for the business.

Eventually, they returned to base and Jon plopped onto the couch. He closed his eyes as sleep eagerly tugged at him, but fought it for just a bit longer as the familiar scent of pine approached the sofa.  
Arms snaked around his neck as he felt the Alpha lean on the top of the couch.  
“Seeing you undercover is both nerve-wracking and very hot.”  
Jonathan giggled as Evan pressed a kiss to the jay’s cheek, the Omega turning so that the next kiss was against his lips.

“Evan, can I steal your mate for a second?”  
The two looked to where Tyler was standing, Evan glancing at Jon with a smile before standing back up with a “sure!”  
Tyler smiled at the jay-wing before moving toward his office, Jon letting his feathers graze over the elk as he left.

Tyler was standing by the window when Jon closed the door.  
“Everything go well on your end?”  
“Yeah, they didn’t suspect Scotty nor I.”  
“That’s good,”  
Tyler smiled, turning away from the window to look at the Omega.   
“You’ve improved a lot, I just wanted to give you my praise.”  
Jon cocked an eyebrow before smiling,  
“Is this about the whole ‘we are technically dating’ thing?”  
Tyler chuckled before shrugging.  
“It can, but it doesn’t have to be.”  
Jon smiled, fluffing his wing before taking a few steps toward the longhorn.  
“If it’s alright, I do have a question for you.”  
“Of course, what’s up?”  
“Would… would you like me to call you my boyfriend?”  
Tyler perked up at the word, and Jonathan noticed the Alpha biting back a grin.  
“It’s your choice, I don’t want to shove this onto you.”  
Jonathan hummed before nodding, taking the last few steps between the jay and the longhorn.  
He leaned in, Tyler’s scent strengthening and almost drowning him as the Alpha watched him.  
Then the jay-wing booped him on the nose.  
“Then… give me a bit longer.”

As the Omega walked back toward the door, Tyler seemed to finally process what happened before he scoffed,  
“You are a tease.”  
Jon glanced over his shoulder, sending a cloud of his scent with a flick of his azure feathers.  
“Maybe a little bit,”  
He winked and ducked out of the office.

He let out a breath he didn’t know he was holding when the door closed.  
“What am I doing?”  
He whispered to himself.


	7. Chapter 6- Suspicion

Brock hummed as he looked out over the gang, most people crawling back upstairs to catch a few extra hours of sleep. Jon had returned from Tyler’s office, probably discussing whether any Canaries were suspicious of them or not, and the Omega had plopped himself in Evan’s lap as the elk watched Netflix again.  
Brock narrowed his eyes at the mated pair.  
Evan had been smelling more and more like an ocean, to the point it was worrying the eagle-wing.  
Was Evan cheating on Jon?  
He knew the Alpha well enough to know the answer, but not many other options were making sense.  
Maybe he should just talk to the elk-horn.  
The scent of iron wrapped around the eagle, and he smiled as he felt a kiss on his neck.  
“Come on Brocky, let’s go back te bed. Smitty can figure something out fer breakfast.”

Brock glanced up at the dove-wing, the kid sitting with his feet up on the table as he scrolled through his phone.  
“Okay, but I need to talk to Evan. You go on ahead and I’ll catch up.”  
Brian huffed, but he did start shuffling towards the stairs.  
Brock tucked his wings neatly behind him and moved toward the couch, almost feeling bad for interrupting the two as Evan let his fingers dance through Jonathan’s hair.

“Evan? Can I steal you for a moment?”  
Both of them turned to look at Brock, and Evan smiled before nodding,  
“Sure!”  
Jon sat up, disappointment visible on the jay’s face as Evan stood up.  
The eagle tried to give Jonathan an apologetic smile, but his attention was already back to the tv. Brock smiled and led Evan away from anyone else in the gang, then turned to face him.

“What is going on between you and Tyler?”  
There was only a flicker of panic before Evan returned to his mask of a smile.  
“What do you mean?”  
He asked, you know, like a liar. Brock sighed before stating,  
“Evan, every couple days you’ve smelled like you’ve been rolling around on the beach for a couple of hours. Is Jonathan not satisfying you anymore?”  
“What?”  
Evan dropped his smile in an instant, his eyes flashing with hurt and anger,  
“Brock you know I would never do that!”

“Then what’s going on? Because I’m pretty sure the only reason Tyler doesn’t smell like you is that he is the gang Alpha.”  
Evan hesitated, his shoulders falling as he looked away from the Omega.  
“It- it’s complicated. But I promise I am not cheating on my mate.”  
“Evan?”  
Both of them turned toward the new voice, Jonathan’s eyes darting between Brock and Evan before they settled on the elk.  
“Does he know?”  
“Do I know what?”  
Brock asked cautiously, glancing between the mates.  
Evan sighed, pinching the bridge of his nose before growling out a quiet,  
“Fuck.”  
He dropped his hand before glancing at Jon.  
“Is Tyler still in his office?”  
“I-I think so?”  
“I’ll be right back.”

Evan took a brisk pace to find the longhorn, and Brock turned toward Jonathan.  
“You know about him and Tyler?”  
The jay-wing was quiet for a few moments, glancing where Evan had hurried off to and at the ground before shrugging,  
“He’s my mate? We promised to tell each other everything.”

Brock hummed and crossed his arms as he waited for Evan to come back, Jonathan rubbing his sleeve between his fingers.  
Eventually, the elk returned, and he ushered the two Omegas into Tyler’s office.  
When they entered, Tyler was sitting in his chair eyeing Brock carefully.

“Neither of you said anything?”  
Tyler asked, glancing at the mates. Evan sighed out a “no” and Jon shook his head.  
“Okay,”  
He turned back toward Brock,  
“What do you know?”

The eagle scoffed,  
“After all of this? It feels like nothing. What are you guys doing? Why are you so secretive?”  
When Brock finished, Evan spoke up,  
“He asked if I was cheating on Jon with you.”  
Tyler nodded, then leaned back in his chair.

“Brock, you’re top Omega right now, do you think that’s true?”  
Brock hesitated a moment, glancing at Evan and Jonathan, neither of which would look at him.  
“I- I don’t think it’s true, I just don’t understand why you guys are overreact-”  
“I’m dating both of them.”  
“What?”  
The eagle-wing blinked at Tyler’s words, then flared his wings.  
“Wait- you three are…”  
“Together, yes.”  
Evan finished Brock’s question when the Omega’s words fell flat, and the eagle turned toward the other Omega in the room.  
“And you’re okay with that?”  
Jon seemed surprised to have the attention turned to him, and he bit his lip before nodding,  
“I-I am par-part of it, yeah”  
Brock leaned back into his chair, then tilted his head at Tyler.

“Why haven’t you told anyone yet?”  
“We haven’t discussed it yet. And until we do, this needs to stay a secret. Alright?”  
“...Okay. But others are going to start suspecting something soon. I would advise talking about it sooner rather than later.”  
Something flickered in Tyler’s eyes, but he nodded.

“Thank you. You may leave now.”  
Brock tucked his wings close to him, and when he stood up he glanced at Evan.  
The Alpha sent him a smile, and Brock gave him half of his own.

When the eagle glanced at Jonathan, the Omega was still fiddling with his sleeve.  
He ducked out of the room, glancing at the door as it closed behind him.  
He sighed, strengthening his scent to cover the salty one that had coated him from just being in the office.  
He began heading toward Brian, knowing his mate was going to be grumpy with how long he took, but Brock was sure he wouldn’t be grumpy for long after he got his cuddles.  
Once the Alpha was asleep, he could get his thoughts together on this whole situation.


	8. Chapter 7- Gnaw

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Sorry for the long hiatus, I've been really struggling writing lately, but I'm trying to get back into it again.  
> Thank you for your patience! <3

Evan watched his longest friend walk out the door, glad to have the problem solved, but wishing it could have happened another way.  
The gnawing feeling in his gut didn’t go away.

“I-I guess we should-should talk about telling the gang, right?”  
Evan glanced at Jon, the jay’s wing pressed tight and anxiously against his body. Evan stepped toward his mate, running delicate fingers over the feathers to soothe the Omega.  
“If you want, we can do it later,”  
He purred, hoping the quiet voice would lessen his tense shoulders.  
It seemed to help a little, Jonathan smiling up at Evan as he leaned into the Alpha’s touch.

“I-I’m fine talking about it, I-I-I don’t think I want that to-to happen again.”  
“Okay, Tyler?”  
Evan glanced up at his- boyfriend? That’s what they were right?  
“What do you think?”  
Tyler’s face was dusted pink and he looked away from the mates, a hand coming up to cover his mouth as he cleared his throat.  
“Uh, yeah, sure. We can talk about it.”

Evan sat down across from the longhorn, gently pulling Jonathan into his lap. The jay-wing hesitated, but quickly curled up against his mate, wrapping his wing over them like a blanket.  
“I guess we should start with, are you guys okay with telling the gang yet?”  
Evan started, glancing at Tyler.  
“I’d be fine with telling them,”  
The Alpha shrugged, smiling at the two in front of him.  
Evan felt Jonathan stiffen in his lap, so he turned his attention to the Omega.  
“Jon? Do you want to tell them?”

The jay-wing didn’t answer right away, and Evan gave him his time as he preened a few of the azure feathers.  
“I-I-I-”  
He paused again to fix his stutter,  
“I dunno. I’m… really still trying to-to get used to it myself, y’know?”  
“That’s okay,”  
Evan soothed, strengthening his scent just a tad to soothe Jonathan,  
“We’ll tell them later. Brock will keep our promise.”  
He felt the Omega nod against him, and glanced at Tyler.  
He was watching Jon, but looked up to make eye contact with Evan.  
He didn’t hold the contact long, turning his attention toward a wall with a regretful lowering of his head. Evan frowned at the movement, then down at his mate.  
He bit the inside of his cheek before pulling his lips into a small smile,  
“Jon, do you still want us to still be a trio?”  
The jay-wing perked his head up, his bright eyes confused when he stared at Evan,  
“Of course,”  
He turned toward Tyler, the longhorn watching the Omega expectantly,  
“I-I-I think it’s nice to see both of-of you so happy.”

“But what about your happiness?”  
Tyler pressed,   
“We want you to be happy too.”  
“And I-I am! I just-just need some time.”  
The office fell into a comfortable silence for a few minutes before Tyler stood up.  
“Well, I better go make sure someone is actually getting a breakfast together. Anything in particular you guys want?”  
Evan had something come to mind, and he gently shifted Jon out of his lap and into the chair.  
“Can I get a kiss?”  
Tyler paused at the door, turning back to the elk-horn.  
“You don’t need to ask for that,”  
He purred, pressing a quick kiss to Evan’s lips. The elk smiled, enjoying the scent of the salty beach so much he didn’t notice Jonathan stand up until he was beside him.  
“Can I get a-a-a hug?”  
He asked sheepishly. Evan was sure if Tyler was a cat he would be legitimately and loudly purring, but the Alpha was giving his quiet rumble as he wrapped careful arms around the Omega and his wing, his eyes sparkling with a brighter excitement that Evan hadn’t seen since they had made it “official”.

When the door closed, Jon turned toward the elk.  
“I like him,”  
He stated simply, pressing the sleeve of his hoodie to his nose and taking a deep breath.   
“Me too,”  
Evan hummed, tugging his mate closer before sealing their lips together.  
“I guess we have to re-scent, don’t we?”  
Jonathan asked against his lips, and Evan chuckled,  
“Yes, because we don’t want people to know without your permission.”  
He shifted his focus to the crook of Jonathan’s neck, dappling it in gentle kisses as vanilla and lavender danced around him to a beautiful melody.  
“I think we should go on a date.”  
“A date?”  
Evan paused his motions at Jon’s words, an eyebrow cocked,  
“Aren’t we mates?”  
“I-I mean with Tyler,”  
The jay-wing blushed, his fingers circling the scent gland on Evan’s wrist.  
“Oh, of course! All three of us?”  
Jon nodded, and Evan smiled, peppering kisses all over the Omega’s face.  
“I can’t wait,”  
He mumbled, pressing their foreheads together,  
“Do you have any ideas?”  
“Mmmm no,”  
Jon admitted.  
“That’s okay, do you want me to plan it out?”  
“If you don-don’t mind.”  
“I would love to.”

Jonathan smiled, nuzzling into the crook of Evan’s neck as he took a deep breath of pine.  
“I liked watching you and Tyler kiss.”  
The comment was mumbled into Evan’s neck, and he chuckled.  
“Do you want us to do it around you more?”  
Jon’s wing twitched and Evan could feel the Omega’s face heat up as he pressed closer to his mate. Evan laughed before purring,  
“Noted.”

Eventually, they left the office smelling distinctly like one another and headed to eat.  
Smitty had gotten at least four of everything on McDonald’s breakfast menu, and so everyone was taking their picks as they settled around the downstairs.  
Evan eyed all the food, but he had lost his appetite.  
He made sure Jonathan was eating before he slunk upstairs, trying to ignore the gnawing feeling that seemed to course through his blood.

When he made it to his and Jonathan’s room, he flopped on the bed, wary of his antlers.   
The heat of the spring sun warmed the blankets, and he curled into the pleasant warmth that wrapped around him.  
His antlers were itchy, which he knew meant they would come off soon.  
He smiled at the thought as he closed his eyes.  
He was already growing drowsy from the sunny spot on the bed, but the gnawing feeling returned.  
Now it felt like it was worming its way around his skull, kneading his brain until he finally pulled his phone out.  
He hurriedly typed his question into Google, having to click “ _did you mean…_ ” because he misspelled several words.  
He scrolled through several results, clicking on and skimming some of the articles and websites.

He must have been there for an hour, and eventually, he dropped his phone to succumb to the heat the sun was blanketing him in.   
The gnawing feeling subsided, and he felt like maybe he had a grasp on what was happening to him.  
At least, something that sounded like what he was going through.  
He would certainly have to look into it more later, because right now he was going to take a nap.  
Besides,  
What were the chances he was actually second gender dysphoric?


	9. Chapter 8- Betrayal

The sun sent her last glints over the city, the sky falling dim without her light. It grew dull and blue, the usual fire in the sunset lost to the clouds for the night.  
Neon signs began to blink to life as groups of Omegas laughed along the sidewalks, not in any hurry to get to anywhere. The skyscrapers held tight to the last rays of sunlight, clinging on even when the night was inevitable.

Marcel watched the tv as Mario Kart played loudly on the screen, smiling from where he was leaning on the back of Scotty’s chair as the Beta raged at the game. Anthony was wheezing as he tried to continue playing, Nogla and Tyler yelling as they turned their controllers.   
_Speaking of Nogla…_  
The Alpha turned a careful eye toward the Beta, then at the door to the observation room.  
Lui was inside.

Marcel was glad that he was mates with a Beta, as the other Betas would talk to him more than anyone else in the gang.

Lui had been switching off with Anthony to watch cameras, but lately, the smaller had been asking for more shifts. Anthony had been grateful, but had started refusing as of late because he was worried about Lui’s health. Nogla had been asking Anthony to trade back so that he could take Lui out for a date, yet when Anthony offered, he refused.

According to Anthony, he had kindly reminded the smaller that he had a boyfriend who wanted to love him and that he would drag the ex-spy out of the room so he could enjoy the date.  
Still, Lui wouldn’t budge. 

“I don’t want to put my nose in other’s business,”  
Anthony had sighed a few nights ago, holding a beer can as he looked over the screens, Marcel leaning against the back wall,  
“But I think Lui is avoiding his boyfriend.”

Marcel pressed a kiss to Scotty’s forehead right before he screamed in defeat at the game, the deer-horn smiling as he meandered toward the Observation Room.

He opened the door quietly, not allowing the latch to click as he closed it behind him.  
Lui was leaning on his palm as he stared at the screen in front of him, idly clicking through the other cameras in search of activity.  
To Marcel, he looked about as skulky as skulky got.

The Alpha took slow, purposeful steps toward the Beta, then flopped himself down in a nearby chair, startling Lui with the squeak and groan of his weight on the seat.  
“Jesus fuck Marcel! You scared me!”

The Alpha didn’t say anything as he watched the Beta, an eyebrow cocked with interest. Lui calmed from his scare and shifted under Marcel’s stare.  
He turned back to the cameras and cleared his throat.  
“Can I… help you with something?”  
He asked uncomfortably, clicking through the cameras to occupy his fingers.

“What’s going on with you and Nogla?”  
The Beta stiffened at his boyfriend’s name, and flipped through several screens without a chance to look them over.  
“Nothing worth your time. Go back to your game.”  
Marcel scoffed, and Lui glanced at him.

“I’ll have you know anything involving my friends and family is most definitely worth my time. Now spill.”  
Lui huffed, but stopped looking through screens and leaned back.  
He was quiet for a while, tapping his fingers on the desk before saying quietly,  
“I cheated on him.”

Marcel felt his blood freeze.  
Then it started back up at a boil.  
He barely restrained a growl,  
“Okay, not what I was expecting. But you better start explaining before I skewer you alive.”

Lui gave a sad chuckle and looked at the ceiling.  
“I’d prefer that actually, just get it over with.”  
He glanced at Marcel, but the Alpha only narrowed his glare in response.  
Lui sighed, then sat up in his chair to lean his head in his hands.  
“I regret doing it. She was just a pretty Omega I saw on the street getting robbed and when I beat the guy off she took me to her place and- fuck.”

“Literally.”  
Marcel snarled, his fingers digging into his crossed arms.  
Lui ran his hands down his face before hitting his head on the desk,  
“I can’t look at Nogla without feeling guilty. He’s so sweet and I don’t want to see the hurt and betrayal on his face. He doesn’t deserve that.”

“So what? You were never going to tell him?”  
Lui scoffed, and Marcel saw tears glistening in his eyes,  
“No? I know that’s selfish but I was hoping I could just- drift away I guess. He would either forget me or start to hate me and it wouldn’t hurt as bad as seeing him lose all faith in me.”

Marcel sighed, leaning back in his chair and pinching the bridge of his nose.  
He needed to tell someone. Either Tyler and have him kicked from the gang, or Nogla so that he would dump the weasel.  
But, he knew Lui should be the one to tell Nogla, or at least be there when Nogla finds out because Marcel knew the guy, he _would_ find out.  
He may be kind of dopey and naïve, but he could read people like novels, encyclopedias of everything they’ve ever done in their life.  
And Nogla would know.  
Hell, Marcel wouldn’t be surprised if he already knew.

When the Alpha looked up at Lui, the Beta was staring defeated at the floor, like he expected to be shot and his corpse dumped in the desert where no one would find it.  
But Marcel couldn’t do that.  
Not yet anyway.  
“Alright, let’s get you to your boyfriend.”  
“What?”

The fear in the Beta’s eyes was dark, more terrified than even when Marcel had seen a gun to his face.  
At least he would have closure from the gun, death, and a funeral from the gang who loved him.  
But this, the feral nature of being caught in something you regret with your whole being, was a darker fear.  
One that held nothing but pain and sorrow for the rest of your days.  
And that fear held no closure.  
You cannot have closure while regret roams free.

“You are talking to your boyfriend. Right here. Right now. I’ll go get him.”  
Marcel took a step toward the door and Lui leaped out of his seat, throwing himself around Marcel’s arm and stopping the Alpha.  
“Marcel, please. Please, I am _begging_ you. You can’t make me do this, _please_!!”

Marcel looked down at the Beta, and almost felt pity swirl in his heart.   
Almost.  
The ball and chain of lying to his friends, to his _family_ , would weigh him down more than Lui ever could.  
He shook his head and pulled himself free.  
“Prepare yourself. If you’re gone when I come back, I’ll tell him myself and kill you.”

Lui was frozen on the floor as Marcel left, and he turned his attention to the living room.  
Nogla was still playing Mario Kart with the guys. Still laughing.  
Marcel didn’t want to do this.  
But he knew it needed to happen.

He walked up between games and tapped the lanky Beta on the shoulder.  
“Hey, can you follow me real quick?”  
Nogla seemed surprised, but smiled and gave him a nod.  
“Sure t’ing! Smitt! You can play fer me!”

The Omega perked you from where he was sitting on the kitchen counter before jumping the seat and landing where Nogla had been a moment before. Marcel led the way to the Observation room, glancing to ensure Nogla was behind him before opening the door.

The room was empty.  
Marcel knew it would be.  
The windows in the back were open, and the computer screen left on the cameras.  
“Wait, wasn’t Lui in here?”

Marcel sighed at Nogla’s question and closed his eyes.  
He nodded, and he could hear the confusion in Nogla’s voice.  
“Then, where’d he go? What did ye want to show me?”

Fuck.  
Of everything Lui had said, there was one thing Marcel agreed with.  
He didn’t want to see Nogla’s face of hurt.  
But he told Lui what would happen if he left.

“I was going to have Lui tell you, but it looks like he ran away.”  
“What? Why would he do dat?”  
“Because he cheated on you.”

Nogla paused as he processed the information, then looked at Marcel with a stern expression.  
“Are ye sure?”  
“He told me himself.”

Nogla stared at the empty seat in front of the computer in thought, then back up at Marcel.  
“Okay. Thank you.”  
And he turned to walk out of the room. Marcel made a surprised noise and grabbed the Beta’s hand before he could leave.

“Thank you? What do you mean? Are you okay man?”  
Nogla glanced at Marcel’s hand on his wrist, then looked up with a small smile.  
“I’ll be alright. Clearly Lui felt bad enough to run away.”

“Well- yeah but-“  
“And when I see him again, I’ll ask him meself.”  
Marcel paused, then softly said,  
“When? Nogla he’s probably never coming back.”  
“I know, I’ll find him. I want him to say it ta my face.”  
Marcel let go of Nogla’s wrist, and the Beta gave him a hint of a bigger smile.  
“Tank ye fer tellin’ me.


	10. Chapter 9- I love you

They searched for Lui for two weeks before giving up.   
Tyler sent out search party after search party until the entire gang couldn’t stay awake any longer. Anthony sent out as many drones as he could control with the hope that they could continue the search with no results.  
It was like the Beta had just vanished into thin air.  
Dew lost to the heat of the sun.

Tyler had known Nogla for six years, ever since they and Brian had dropped out of college together. So he knew when the Beta was putting on a fake smile.  
And yet, he couldn’t bear to try and take it away from him.  
Nogla was holding on to a thread.  
Of hope, of love… Tyler wasn’t sure, but what he did know was that behind closed doors, when he would hesitate outside Nogla’s room with his hand raised to knock, he would hear the sniffles.  
The gasps of held back sobs.  
And he would always sigh and walk away.

Nogla healed in the dark, under the caress of the moonlight, so Tyler wouldn’t bring him into the sunlight, at least not yet.

Besides, Tyler didn’t want to focus on Lui.  
He didn’t want to think about how he was unable to help one of his best friends.  
Didn’t want to focus on how no matter how many hours he wasted, or how many streets he combed, he couldn’t find the Lui anywhere.  
He had watched the footage so many times, watched the Beta leave through the window, and then vanish without a trace.

...  
Tyler wanted to focus on Evan and Jonathan.

He wanted to focus on coming home from another search, a storm soaking his body and clothes, and his eyes heavy with exhaustion. He had entered his room only to find Evan, holding Jonathan close, both of them asleep on Tyler’s bed after a failed attempt to stay up for him.  
Tyler had felt warmer already.

He wanted to focus on Jon, the Omega tucking Evan into their bed after the elk-horn wore himself to the bone. The Omega hovering outside their bedroom door, waiting for Tyler to come back to make sure he was safe before going to bed.

Tyler wanted to focus on Evan who massaged his sore muscles and peppered his face in kisses until he fell asleep. Evan, who preened Jonathan’s wing with careful fingers as the Omega cooed at the gentle action. 

After he called the searches off the night before, Tyler was content to wake up between the two mates.   
He was soothed between the scents of pine and vanilla lavender that melted together seamlessly, and took a deep breath to let his mind hover in the serenity he was in.  
Evan was the big spoon in the cuddle pile, with Jonathan as the small spoon and Tyler between them.  
It just felt so right.

So, maybe that was why it hurt when the Omega in his arms jerked away from him.

Tyler feigned being asleep and listened as Jonathan caught his breath from his dream, the sharp fear in his vanilla dulling to its normal scent.  
Tyler cracked his eyes open, looking up at the sitting form of Jonathan as the Omega pulled his wing around himself.   
He could see that Jonathan had his head in his hands, forcing himself to take deep breaths with a waver every few moments.  
 _Is he crying?_  
Tyler wondered, opening his eyes fully now.  
He glanced back at Evan, making sure the other Alpha was still asleep, and gently lifted the arms off of him. When he was free, he slowly shifted so he was sitting next to the Omega and placed a hand on his shoulder.  
The jay-wing jumped, startling Tyler a bit as Jonathan stared at him wide-eyed for a few seconds before calming down.

“H-hey Tyler,”  
He cooed, a tired smile on his face.  
“Hey, Jon,”  
He said softly,  
“How are you doing?”  
The Omega yawned, his wing stretching out behind Tyler before carefully folding back up, avoiding touching the Alpha.  
“I’m fine, just-just tired.”  
Tyler bit his cheek, then glanced over,  
“Were you... crying earlier?”  
Jonathan stiffened, the hands that had been in his lap balling into fists.  
“N-no I was just… um, I mean I just h-had something in my eye it was r-really um, really nothing at all.”  
Tyler sighed and reached to comfort the jay, but pulled his hand back.  
“Please be honest Jon, are you okay with me joining the relationship?”  
The Omega whipped around with a wide-eyed,  
“Yes!”  
Before recoiling and dropping the brief eye contact,  
“I think. I just-“  
He sighed, bringing his wing around himself again.  
“I just think a lot is h-happening really f-fast. First we add you to-to _us_ , and-and then Lui runs away and Smitty won’t even talk to me and-“  
His voice cracked, and a tear rolled down his face, his hands moving like he wanted to keep talking, but Tyler put his own hand over the moving limbs to stop him.  
“Jonathan, I know a lot is happening, and I’ll do all that I can to have it slow down for a while. Is there anything I can do to help? Bring you breakfast in bed? Keep space between us for a bit?”

Jonathan was quiet for a few minutes, the only other sound being Evan’s breathing behind them.  
“I-I won’t say no to breakfast in bed,”  
The Omega croaked, laughing slightly. Tyler smiled, carefully rubbing the back of Jonathan’s hand as he purred,  
“Alright, I’ll get that for you.”  
Tyler moved to stand up but the jay-wing stopped him with a brush of his wing.  
“But um… I don’t think we need space. I-I really liked cuddling last night.”  
A slight blush crept up his face and Tyler smiled, gently grabbing Jonathan’s hand and pressing a kiss to the back.  
He didn’t want to overwhelm Jon any more than he already was, but he wanted Jon to know he cared for him.

He left after that, carefully opening and closing the bedroom door to grab his boyfriends some breakfast in bed.

Downstairs was quiet, only a few people walking around despite it being 11:30.   
Although, that’s what happens when you’re scouring the streets until about 5 am.  
He was just going to do something simple, maybe a bowl of oatmeal or the stack of gas station burritos that had been stored in the fridge because nobody could be bothered to cook recently.   
However, he wanted to make Jon extra happy if he could, and he was sure the other members of the gang (and Brock and Evan especially) would really enjoy some homemade waffles.

He was never really a fan of cooking, but cooking for everyone else helped spur him on as he gathered the ingredients.  
He lost his sense of time, just pouring the batter on the waffle maker and taking them out when ready, and every once in awhile his plate of finished waffles was emptied and he would say good morning to whoever had come down to eat.

Eventually, the batter was gone, and Brock offered to clean up the mess as Tyler brought up two plates for his boyfriends, (he had snacked on enough of the waffles to be full anyway).  
He managed to open the door with his free fingers, and smiled at the scene in front of him.

Jonathan had climbed back into bed, and had nestled his face into Evan’s chest who had his arms tight around his mate.  
Their scents were wrapped neatly around each other, and Tyler smiled as his scent slowly tangled around the others. He didn’t want to wake them, so he placed their plates on the dresser. 

He sat down on the window seat, glancing out the window and the springtime warmth that came from it. He watched as the dust danced in the sunbeams, drifting like lazy birds as they left the sunlight.  
He focused back on his boyfriends at the sight of movement, Evan slowly sitting up with a yawn and a wide stretch before blinking up at Tyler.  
“Good morning,”  
Tyler said softly, careful not to wake the sleeping jay-wing.   
“Mornin’,”  
Evan purred, his voice deep with sleep. He glanced down at Jonathan beside him, smiling before turning toward Tyler with a frown.  
“Why are you over there?”

“I went to make breakfast for you guys,”  
Tyler said, a bit of pride seeping into his voice as he stood up and gave Evan a plate.  
The Alpha’s eyes opened wide and he stared up at Tyler in awe.  
“You _made_ these?”  
“Yeah, why do you look so surprised?”  
Tyler chuckled, glancing at the elk-horn.  
“Well, you haven’t cooked in forever,”  
Evan started, beginning to cut his waffles,  
“So I was just surprised. What’s the occasion?”  
The other Alpha glanced up at Tyler, beginning to dip the cut pieces in the syrup around the plate.  
“The occasion? Seeing you two eat something I cooked for you.”

Evan paused in the middle of chewing, his face turning a dark blush before he swallowed, narrowing his eyes at Tyler as a smirk climbed his lips.  
Evan moved his plate off his lap and leaped into Tyler’s arms, dragging the longhorn down for a syrupy kiss. Tyler’s eyes widened in surprise before he smiled into the kiss, amazed that Evan’s kisses could get any sweeter. They broke apart after a bit, Evan returning to his waffles with a permanent flush on his cheeks as he began to eat.

Tyler glanced up at Jonathan to see if he was still asleep, he was met with wide eyes that were darting between the two Alphas. However, when Jon realized Tyler was smiling at him, he turned his attention to the window, a blush climbing his neck and ears.

“Good morning Jonny,”  
Tyler purred, grabbing the Omega’s plate and bringing it to him,  
“How did you sleep?”  
The jay-wing hesitated in his answer, and Tyler only offered a smile as an answer to the Omega’s questioning glance.  
He would ask about the tears later, now was the time for breakfast.

Jonathan twittered out a feeble, “good” before Tyler placed the plate in the Omega’s lap.  
“I made you two some waffles,”  
Tyler added, unable to hide his smirk as the Omega glanced at the waffles and back at the longhorn.  
“Th-thank you,”  
Jon cooed, swallowing but not looking down at the plate. Tyler leaned forward, Jon’s pupils dilating as he closed his eyes, moving himself closer a hair.  
Tyler smiled before pressing a kiss to the Omega’s forehead.

“Bon appetit,”  
Tyler winked, standing back up to sit on the windowsill.  
Jonathan opened his eyes, his face turning a darker scarlet as he picked up one of the waffles with his hand and began to eat.   
When Tyler glanced at Evan, the other Alpha was watching his mate with a soft smile before glancing at Tyler with the same one.   
Tyler could practically read his thoughts from the look, and Tyler sent him the same smile and his heart felt so full it might burst.  
 _I love you too._

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> AN:  
> Jonathan thought Tyler was going to kiss him, and then he didn't.  
> Wasn't sure if that made sense or not lol


	11. Chapter 10- Arcade Night

Flowers bloomed on small branches, the bloom’s scent filling the air thick enough a Beta could smell it. Roses and daisies all joined the flourishing, the smell mixing and tangling with grass and rain to smell distinctly *spring*.  
It was a Saturday, so high schoolers were mingling the streets, spending the money they had earned over the summer, and moving in groups. Some of the Alphas were arguing over whose horns were growing faster and a few Omegas flashed their wings with a wink and a smirk.

The sun gave her blessing to the city, bathing it in warmth while the occasional cloud kept it from getting too hot. A blossom was tugged off a branch by a child’s chubby fingers. They laughed as they threw the flower again.  
A black feather landed beside the blossom.  
A crow-wing walked past, itching her wing as another feather fell.  
A Beta had his hoodie pulled tightly over his face as he avoided a fast-moving car.

The car took the feather and flower in the passing wind, but Marcel didn’t see them from behind the wheel.   
He was searching.  
Hunting for a passing familiar face or brief scent that would let him fulfill his promise.  
He never broke a promise.

Perhaps he wouldn’t kill Lui on sight; Nogla had mentioned wanting to speak to the Beta, and Marcel was willing to let that happen.  
However, as soon as it was over, Marcel would keep his word.  
Lui would die.

***

Neon lights flashed and flickered, signs blinking in bright letters as they buzzed with electricity.  
“ _Arcade_ ” the letters spelled, and Nogla stared up as a breeze tugged his hair.  
“This is where I go when I need a break from the base,”  
A voice said from beside him, the pronghorn Alpha crossing his arms with a smile as he looked at the building.  
Nogla could smell the old pizza from outside, and the bright and dizzying carpet glowed softly in the black lights from above.  
“Are ye sure, Brine?”  
Nogla asked, glancing at the Alpha,  
“Shouldn’t we be helpin’ out?”  
Brian shook his head and patted the Beta on the shoulder.  
“Nah, I talked to Tyler and we‘re fresh out of chores. We have tons of free time!”  
Nogla made an unconvinced sound, but let Brian lead him inside. 

The sounds of all the machines immediately rang around them, the smell of pizza and sweat stuffed into the air despite there only being a few people.  
“Isn’t this place wonderful?”  
Brian said gleefully, glancing at Nogla to see his face. The Beta sighed, but smiled,  
“It’s nice, but we don’t have any quarters.”  
“We don’t?”  
The Alpha pulled out a bag from his jacket, the Ziploc making a loud jingling sound as Brian bounced it,  
“We have plenty. What do you want te start wit’?”

They started at the skeeball machine, Nogla feeling a bit overwhelmed by all the options and choosing the first thing he saw.  
He didn’t score many points, and only earned two tickets, but Brian somehow managed to win them fifty first-try.  
At Nogla’s questioning stare, the Alpha chuckled,  
“I told ye, I spend _way_ too much time here.”

Brian handed Nogla half of the coins, telling him to go play “whatever the hell he wanted” before the pronghorn dashed off to win more tickets.  
The Beta found a Pacman machine, playing fairly well but ultimately wasting a couple of quarters in it.  
The same happened in Astro Blaster, but he lasted until the last fight in Mortal Kombat and felt pretty proud of himself. None of the games gave him any tickets, but the worries of not getting any were dashed when he saw Brian dragging a stack of them.

Then he found the pinball machines.  
And Nogla was a _god_ at pinball.  
There were three machines, and after Nogla gave all three a chance, he stuck with the Pirates of the Caribbean one.   
He only spent about 4 quarters on it before Brian found him with more tickets than he could carry.

“Holy shite Nogla,”  
The Alpha stared in awe, Nogla hyper-focused on the game and hardly able to listen to Brian at all,  
“I didn’t know ye were a pinball prodigy!”  
As he spoke, however, the ball fell right between the flippers, Nogla unable to stop it as he lost his final ball.  
“Eh,”  
The Beta sighed as he stepped away from the machine for a stretch,  
“I’m a bit rusty.”

“Rusty my ass,”  
Brian scoffed, picking up some of his trail of tickets,  
“Ye were really good!”  
Nogla glanced at Brian and the massive amounts of tickets he held before giggling,  
“Need some help?”  
Brian glanced up before swatting the idea out of the air with his hand.  
“Nah, was out of quarters anyway. Have any more?”  
Nogla pulled out the baggy that still held about twelve, and Brian smiled brightly.  
“Perfect! More for next time, unless you want to keep going.”  
Nogla glanced at the pinball machine before shrugging.  
“I’ll hurt my back if I stay leanin’ over that thing fer much longer, but tank ye. Why don’t we turn all o’ these tickets in?”  
Brian looked up from where a few had gotten tangled in his horns and smiled,  
“That might be fer the better.”

They brought the piles of tickets to the ticket-counting machine, and then slowly but surely began feeding it the tickets.  
They turned it into a race, each with a machine and the pile between them.  
Nogla won, his slip saying 1,027 while Brian had 985.  
Together, they had 2,012 tickets.  
They brought their slips to the counter, the Omega behind it looking bored out of her mind as she helped them get their prizes.

Brian got a nerf gun for 550 tickets, and Nogla got a stuffed dog for 630. They got a small Pacman machine for 800 tickets, and with the other 32, they got a handful of rubber spiders, snakes, and glowsticks.

Nogla and Brian left the arcade laughing, the sweet nighttime spring air catching their giggles as they carried their treasures toward the car.  
The blinking of the signs reflected off their clothes, their faces illuminated by the already cracked glowsticks.  
A soft rain began to patter down on the city, the neon signs reflecting off newly formed puddles as the tires splashed through them.  
Nogla couldn’t wipe the smile off his face as he held his stuffed dog close to his chest, the collar of glowsticks turning the brown dog a faint purple.  
He glanced at Brian, the Alpha jamming out to some loud song on the radio as the windshield wipers swiped the glass. He giggled as he began to join the song, the two of them singing horribly all the way back to the base.

As they sped past, a Beta paused and glanced at the car. He had his hood pulled high from the weather, but he pulled it down to watch it splash down the road.  
The rain was quick to soak his hair, but he was grateful for it.  
He gave the van a sad smile as he turned and walked the other direction, the warm rain hiding his tears.


	12. Chapter 11- Acceptance

The sun was warm and comforting in the city. People walked across the sidewalk and giggled along the sidewalks, couples holding hands and friends ramming horns.  
Traffic was bustling, smoke trailing from lips outside of windows and feathers brushing the breeze as they looked over the city.  
The warmth of the sun was usually what helped soothe Evan’s nerves, but today the heat was making him more nervous.  
More fidgety.  
He was pacing, his fingers in his mouth as he chewed them. He had broken the habit of chewing his nails a couple years back, but he still chewed on the digit if he got worked up enough.  
His knuckle was red with teeth marks.

Evan loved his mate and his boyfriend.  
So maybe it was because of that love that as the morning progressed, his stomach began to pool with anxiety.  
 _What if they dump me? What if they think I’m weird?_  
A part of him knew they would most likely still love him…  
Well, really really believed they would.  
It is impossible to be one hundred percent sure of how someone will react.

Evan itched at his antlers, wishing he could make them fall off faster.  
If he hit something hard enough, he could probably snap a part off-

The door opened.  
Evan glanced up from his pacing to where his mate stood, a worried expression settled on his features.  
“Hey, Ev,”  
Jonathan started, his lips peeking into a small smile,  
“Everything okay?”

Evan shrugged, pulling on a false smile as he said,  
“Yeah, I’m all good.”  
Jon nodded, taking a few steps into the room before shutting the door.  
“Are you sure? You smell anxious.”  
Evan didn’t want to smell the air, he knew Jonathan was right.  
The elk took a deep breath, turning to look out the window that overlooked the south side of the city.  
“It’s a beautiful day out,”  
He said softly, turning to glance at the Omega who was now beside him. His cerulean eyes glanced at Evan for half a second longer before turning toward the city.  
“Yeah, it is,”  
He cooed.  
Evan smiled, then peeked at the azure wing that was sprawled across Jonathan’s back. The feathers made his heart twist.  
Evan sighed, bringing Jon’s eyes toward him.  
“Hey Jon, you love me, right?”  
The panic in his mate’s eyes was immediate, and Evan felt guilt seep into his skin.  
“Of course, Evan what’s wrong? You know I love you.”  
Evan could smell Jonathan strengthening his scent, the Omega trying to soothe his mate. Panic was flaring through the elk-horn whenever he tried to bring the words to his mouth, but he knew if he didn’t say anything soon Jonathan would get even more worried.  
He had to say it.  
He _needed_ to.

“I… think I’m trans.”  
The air felt heavy. Evan couldn’t tell if that was his anxious scent or his mind trying to force him to stop.  
To deny it, go back in time to before he said those four words.  
Evan had his eyes watching the cars below, but he turned toward Jonathan when his mate began to speak.  
“Okay… you are a girl?”  
Evan felt heat flare into his face, and he was sure he was blushing like a mad man.  
“N-no, my second gender. I think I’m an Omega.”  
“Oh.”  
Evan was watching Jonathan’s face desperately, trying to read his thoughts through his face and eyes.  
 _Please don’t leave me. Please don’t hate me._  
The pleads were running like a runaway train through Evan’s mind, and he swallowed as he tried to ignore how loud his heart was pounding.  
Evan wasn’t sure how long they stood in silence.  
Days? Maybe years?

It took 3 seconds before Jon pulled Evan into a hug.

“Thank you for telling me.”  
Evan could hardly process the blue-jay’s words. He was sure he was shaking, and he loosely wrapped his arms underneath Jon’s wing.  
“Y-you don’t hate me?”  
Evan didn’t know he was crying until he spoke, his voice trembling and desperate.  
He felt Jon scoff against him.  
“Are you kidding me?”  
Jon pulled away and they locked eyes. Evan could feel tears streaking down his cheeks.  
“I’ll always love you.”  
Evan broke down at his mate’s words, full sobs tearing out of his throat as he cried in Jonathan’s arms.  
The blue-jay kissed away a few tears before leading him to the bed and wrapping Evan in his wing.  
His lavender and vanilla was swirling through the air like skilled dancers, and Evan took hiccuping breathes of it as he cuddled against his mate.  
They were there for several minutes, Evan crying out his relief but also absolute terror.

That was the first time he had said it out loud.  
That was petrifying.  
Jonathan kept holding him and soothing him, peppering his face with kisses as he started to calm down.  
Evan finally calmed down, his head in Jon’s lap as the Omega played with his hair.

“Thank you for still loving me,”  
Evan croaked out.  
Jonathan scoffed, nearing the edge of giggling.  
“The fact you-you think I wouldn’t is kinda funny. Sorry for laughing.”  
Evan smiled, turning to look at his mate.  
“Nah it’s all good. I don’t blame you.”  
“Would you still love me if I was trans?”  
Evan perked up at the question and all but shouted,  
“Yeah, of course!"  
And Jonathan laughed out,  
“See? So of course I still love you. I don’t care what either of your genders are. I love you.”  
Evan wanted to cry again, but he settled for sitting up and pulling his mate in for a kiss.

When they broke apart, they touched foreheads.  
“I’m so lucky to have you,”  
Evan purred.  
“Right back at you,”  
Jon cooed, readjusting so he could press a kiss to Evan’s lips again. The elk let himself be pushed against the bed, Jonathan leaving Evan’s lips to move around the rest of his face.  
“So handsome, my love, my mate…”  
With each pause was another kiss, and Evan was sure he was smiling like an idiot.  
“My Omega.”  
He pressed the final kiss on Evan’s lips, and Evan felt electricity shoot through his body at the word.  
“Can you call me that again?”  
He whispered, like he was afraid to admit it made him happy.  
Maybe he was.  
Jonathan smirked, then gave Evan another peck.  
“My Omega,”  
Another one.  
“My Omega,”  
Jonathan paused, locking eyes with Evan as he whispered,  
“My. Omega.”  
Against Evan’s lips.  
Evan felt like his body was on fire as he dragged Jonathan into the makeout session, then pulled the Omega down into a cuddle.  
He heard Jonathan make a disappointed sound, and he knew why. He peppered Jonathan’s face in kisses then said quietly,  
“Is it okay if we… take a break from sex? I just- feel too uncomfortable right now.”

Jonathan glared at Evan teasingly for just a moment before smiling and giving Evan a kiss on the cheek.  
“Sure. I want you to be comfy.”  
Evan smiled and leaned into Jonathan’s scent gland on his neck.  
The scent was almost overwhelming, but it was nice.  
It felt like home.  
“Thank you,”  
He murmured against the blue-jay’s neck.  
“No problem,”  
Jon hummed.

They laid there for a while before Jonathan spoke.  
“So…”  
Evan shifted a bit, pulling away so they were facing each other.  
“So?”  
He prodded, watching the Omega’s face pull into a frown.  
“I-I’m sorry, I don’t really know how to-to word this right.”  
“You’re okay, take your time.”  
Evan grabbed the other Omega’s hand, holding it as Jon squeezed back before beginning,  
“Are you going to get a surgery done? They-they do that right?”

Evan gave his mate a nod, looking at their hands that were linked together.  
“Yeah, they do that. Alphas with horns can get them burned and they’ll stop growing. Alphas with antlers though, like myself, have to get this patch of tissue removed from where the antlers grow. Which might be for the best, because otherwise there is a chance horns can grow back if they just burn them.”

Jonathan paused, then asked,  
“So, how do they remove it?”  
“Well, it’s actually good that my antlers will be shedding soon, because that is really the only time they can do it.   
But they basically just- cut out the stump. In fact, if I wanted to, I could donate my horns, and then whoever wants them could grow the antlers themselves!”  
“Woah, that would be crazy,”  
Jonathan hummed, then smiled,  
“Imagine we are just walking down the street and see someone with them. That would be kinda funny.”  
Evan giggled, then nodded.  
“That would be! But, um, also I can take hormones to start growing my own wings!”  
Jonathan’s eyes went wide.  
“ _What_?”  
“They won’t grow big enough for me to fly, but I’d have my own wings!”  
Jonathan was staring at Evan in awe before he smiled wide.  
“We’re both grounded Omegas! Perfect couple!”  
They fell into laughter and Evan brought up Tyler.  
“He’s a stinky Alpha. We don’t talk about him,”  
Jonathan giggled. Evan started laughing way too hard, nearly rolling out of bed until Jon caught him.  
They calmed down a bit and Evan hummed,  
“Speaking of Tyler, I need to tell him too.”

“Do you want to text him?”  
Evan hummed, rubbing the back of Jonathan’s hand.  
“Maybe. I probably should.”  
Evan released Jon’s hand and rolled over, grabbing his phone from the nightstand.  
He texted Tyler to come to their room, and then put the phone back.  
“He’s on his way.”  
Jon cocked an eyebrow,  
“He responded that fast?”  
Evan scoffed.  
“No, he never responds to texts that tell him to do something. He just does it and you have to ask him later if he did it or not.”  
Jonathan giggled as the door opened, Tyler poking his head in curiously.  
When he saw them he cocked a brow and smirked.  
“Cuddling in the middle of the afternoon? Do we have nothing else to do?”

The mate’s ignored the sarcastic judgment and Evan made grabby hands for the Alpha. Tyler started crawling between them, but Jon stopped him.  
“Evan is in the middle this time.”  
Tyler glanced at Ev, then shrugged and climbed onto the other side of the bed, Evan and Jon shifting so there was enough room for him and his horns.

When he was finally settled, he cuddled into Evan (as best he could with his wide horns) and the Omega could hear his boyfriend taking deep breaths of his scent.   
Evan felt his nerves coming back at the thought of telling Tyler, and it must have manifested in his scent because the Alpha shifted a bit to look at Evan’s face.  
“You okay Ev?”

Evan could only hum in response, gathering what was left of his courage to ask,  
“Ty, can I tell you something?”  
The Alpha’s face contorted with worry and he nodded.  
“‘Course, what’s up?”  
Evan glanced at Jonathan, the other Omega smiling with a nod and giving Evan’s hand a squeeze.

He turned back toward the longhorn with a swallow.  
“I’m trans. I’m an Omega.”  
Tyler didn’t say anything for a couple of minutes, so Evan nervously said,  
“That’s um, it…”

The Alpha opened and closed his mouth a couple times before sighing,  
“First off, I’m glad you told me. I want you to be happy because I- I love you. And secondly-“  
He stopped and his face was dark red, but it looked like he didn’t want to talk about it.  
But Evan sure did.  
That was the first time Tyler said he loved him.  
Right now, at this moment.  
If Evan had any doubt about his relationships, that wiped it clear.  
“And secondly,”  
Tyler started again, pretending he wasn’t a blushing mess,  
“Do you want me to call you an Omega in front of the gang? Or just us three?”  
Evan recoiled at the thought of coming out to any more people right now and shook his head.  
“I don’t know…”  
“Tobi is t-trans, right?”  
Evan glanced at Jon, the Omega’s expression a bit hopeful as he continued,  
“Everyone calls her a she, right? So I’m s-sure everyone will be accepting!”

Evan blinked.  
He had forgotten Tobi was trans, but then again it was her first gender that was wrong. People were more or less okay with changing your first gender, but your second?   
People already were against two Omegas dating, or two Alphas. People who were second-gender trans were killed all the time and then misgendered on the news.  
The thought of ending up like one of them made Evan’s hands shake again.  
“M-maybe. I’ll tell them eventually, just not today.”  
“Okay,”  
Tyler soothed, settling back down and grabbing Evan’s hand to kiss it.  
“If that is what you wish, Omega.”  
Evan couldn’t stop his smile as the word sent the same shock through him as earlier.  
God, he loved his mate and boyfriend.


	13. Chapter 12- Hyperventilating

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Warning: Panic attack

The morning was cooled by thick clouds covering the sky, a warm rain creating puddles in the road and sidewalk.  
Birds retreated under shelter, shielding their chicks from the weather. An Omega was walking her dog on the sidewalk, using her seagull wings to cover the canine like an umbrella.  
A magpie-wing walked past her, coughing into his arm and itching a few of his feathers.  
The seagull gave him a smile and a wave as they crossed, and the other Omega gave her a weak wave as he shoved his hands back into his hoodie.  
As the magpie-wing stretched his feathers to take flight, two of the black and white feathers fell to the concrete.

Evan stretched as he blinked sleep from his eyes, a smile appearing to his lips as he watched Jonathan sleep beside him. The other Omega was in the fetal position, his wing covering him like a light blanket as he curled toward Evan.  
Tyler wasn’t with them, probably in his own room so he wasn’t cramped into the same bed with the other two men.  
Evan sat up, stretching again as he glanced out the window. He turned his head, realizing it was a lot lighter than it should have been and reaching up toward his antlers.  
His fingers met air.  
His eyes widened, and he whipped around to look behind him.  
One of his antlers was laying on his pillow, the other on the floor.  
Evan scoffed, smiling as he felt the sensitive stumps that were on his head.  
They had finally fallen off!

Evan stood out of bed to move the antlers off and away from he bed, not wanting his mate to roll onto the points.  
When he moved them to the dresser, his face fell.  
They had fallen off.  
He didn’t even have an appointment to get his antlers permanently removed.  
Evan flopped back on the bed, running his fingers through his hair, not used to the loss of his horns.

If he called right now, he would be lucky to get an operation in a couple weeks, and by then his antlers would be back, probably to the same size.  
 _Is there someone in the business?_  
Evan bit his bottom lip and tapped his leg.  
He would trust Brock with his life, and he often did, but he didn’t want to talk about it with his oldest friend just yet.  
The Derp Crew might know someone, they seemed to know everyone.  
Tobi probably has some contacts.

Evan pulled up his phone, quickly realizing he didn’t have the wren-wing’s number. He knew Smitty might have it, but again, didn’t want to talk to anyone in the gang.  
He could just text Fitz?  
Evan took a deep breath and held it, pulling up the gazelle-horn’s number and typing out a quick text.  
“ _Hey Cam, can I get Tobi’s number? I need to ask her something personal_ ”

Evan held his breath as he re-read the text about seven times, making sure it sounded inconspicuous and asking himself if he would give Fitz Jon’s number if he received the same question about his mate.  
After about 10 minutes, he hit send and put his phone down away from him so he wouldn’t have to stare at the message any longer.  
He really hoped Tobi had someone’s number.  
This needed to happen soon if he wanted any chance of a successful surgery.

Evan got up, glancing at his sleeping mate before leaving the room.  
He needed to pace, and he didn’t want to wake the Omega up.  
Er- other Omega.  
...Yeah.

Evan closed his eyes tight, pulling on a handful of his hair as he walked down the hall.  
Okay.  
So if Tobi doesn’t have any contacts, he’ll reach out to the Derp Crew, they most likely have something. If not, he’ll scour the internet and then pay however much to get his surgery to the top of the list.  
Which, he knew it wasn’t fair, but most other Alphas with antlers lost them in the winter, elk were different!  
He needed this surgery.

What if Tobi does have a contact?  
Well, obviously he would go and as soon as possible get the surgery done.  
A couple days? Week and a half tops??  
That was his window of time before his antlers were too big to do surgery on.  
And then he wouldn’t have them anymore.  
He would never again have antlers.  
A smile wedged itself onto Evan’s face as he reached the end of the hallway, turning around to begin walking back.

Wait.

He would be at the base, recovering from his surgery soon then.  
What would his family think?  
Well, he would have to tell them…  
Oh god he’d have to tell them.  
Was he ready?  
...  
He wasn’t sure.  
Wait, did he have his phone?  
He tapped all of his pockets, realizing he left it in the bedroom.  
Had Fitz given him Tobi’s number yet?  
He hurried as quietly down the hall and back toward his room as he could, opening the door and seeing his still-sleeping mate.  
He glanced down at his phone on the nightstand, snatching it before closing the door as quietly as he could.

He checked his phone.  
No messages.  
Had he actually sent the text?  
He checked, seeing that he had actually sent it with a sigh of relief.  
Three ellipses appeared.  
Evan panicked and turned his phone off, tucking it into his pocket as he set off down the hall again.  
Okay. Alright.  
He would have to tell his gang before the surgery.  
That gave him a bit, there was no way he would get in today or tomorrow, so he could plan out his telling them.

He could just do what he said to Tyler and Jon,  
“Hey guys, I’m trans and actually an Omega. And I’m telling you guys because I’m actually getting surgery tomorrow and didn’t want you guys to be confused.”  
Hm, not bad.  
Yep, that’s what he would say because if he keeps thinking about it he might just-  
His phone buzzed.

Evan yanked his phone out of his pocket to see Fitz’s message on the front.  
“Tobi” with heart emojis.  
He just sent her contact.  
No questions.  
Perfect.  
Evan had never been happier that Cameron was not a morning person.

He quickly pulled up Tobi’s number, typing out,  
“Hey Tobi, it’s Evan from the BBS and I was wondering if you know anyone who does second gender surgery? Thanks”

Evan only read the message three times before sending it and shoving it back into his pocket.  
He couldn’t overthink this much longer or he would start to hyperventilate.  
A door opened, and Evan looked up to see Brock leaving his room.  
Evan’s blood froze.

The eagle-wing stretched, then paused as he sniffed the air. Evan took a breath, smelling his own panicking pine.  
The Omega turned, seeing Evan down the hall and tilting his head.  
“Ev? Are you okay?”  
Evan’s phone buzzed, and he knew there was only one person it could be.  
 _Oh god.  
Fuck.  
Fuck shit fuck god-_

Evan was pulling at his hair again, his arms and hands shaking with nerves.  
He needed to walk, to pace, but Brock was in front of him.  
And he did not want to get any closer to Brock.

When Evan didn’t respond, Brock started walking toward him.  
“Evan? Can you hear me?”  
He opened his wings slightly, probably trying to send his scent toward Evan to calm him down.  
Evan was starting to feel like a cornered animal, and he wasn’t even backed against a wall.

He needed to get out.  
Out of the hallway, out of the base, maybe out of the city.  
He needed _out_.

Evan started taking slow steps backwards, but not as quickly as Brock was now approaching him.  
“Evan? Hey, buddy, you still there?”  
Evan knew Brock was getting worried over his lack of answers, and it probably didn’t help that his antlers were gone.  
Fuck, he should just talk to his friend, right?

The other part of his mind practically screamed.  
 _No.  
Out.  
I need to get out.  
Right now._

Evan glanced to either side of the hallway, Brock walking straight through the middle and his wings leaving only a foot or two away from either wall.

 _If I run fast enough, Brock might not be able to catch me._  
Shouldn’t I just act like I’m okay? I can talk to Jon to calm down…  
 _He’s getting too close. He’ll know._  
Know what? That I’m trans? I have to tell him eventually.  
 _No. I need out._

Brock was about 5 feet away now.

_Run.  
Run now.  
GET OUT!_

Evan’s heart was trying to beat out of his chest. He couldn’t catch his breath no matter how quickly he was breathing.  
Brock reached a hand out toward him.  
“Evan?”

Evan dashed to the left, sprinting as fast as he could down the hall.  
He couldn’t stop now.  
He had to go.  
He had to get out and far away.  
“Evan!”  
He ignored Brock’s started yelp, practically jumping down the entire staircase and ignoring a pain in his foot.

He was tunnel-visioned to the garage door, but he could smell Marcel and Smitty in the kitchen.  
He opened the door as fast as he could, slipping down the last couple stairs before skidding into the elevator.  
He pressed the button for the garage and then spammed the door-close button.  
He needed the doors to close.  
Now.  
Now.  
 _Please-_  
The doors closed and Evan stared at anything and everything as he felt the lift begin to lower.  
His hands were trembling.  
Had there always been a scratch on the back wall?  
There was a lot of dust in that corner.  
The paint was peeling off of the wall near the buttons, wonder what could have caused that?

When the door opened to the garage, Evan nearly tripped over himself trying to move so quickly.  
He grabbed their fastest car, a jet black Bugatti, ever thankful that they left the keys in their cars.  
He pressed the garage door opener, then turned the key, the sports car roaring to life.

He slammed into reverse, the tires squealing as he narrowly avoided hitting the other cars in the garage.  
When he shifted into drive, he slammed his foot on the accelerator and immediately hit the brake just as hard.  
Brock was in front of the door, his wings spread wide.  
“Evan! Calm down!”  
He was shouting, his voice barely audible over the purr of the car.

_He’ll move if I drive toward him.  
I won’t hit him._

Evan swallowed, then slammed on the accelerator.  
Brock seemed surprised, but didn’t move.  
 _Please move please move pleasemovepleasemovepleasemove-_

A flurry of white wings slammed into the eagle just in time for Evan to fly out of the garage.  
He was panting, the Omega’s hands shaking as he swerved the wheel and took off down the road.  
His foot was pushing the pedal all the way down, and he was swerving through traffic so he didn’t have to slow down.  
He narrowly avoided slamming into another car, only missing because he swerved into the grassy median, his tires tearing up the flowers there.  
A couple petals flew into the air, whisked around by the passing cars.

He yanked the car into park.  
His breathing sounded like he just ran a mile.  
 _Run._

The Omegas would be there soon.  
He needed to get out.  
Evan left the car on as he ran out the door, ignoring the cars as he bolted across the road.

He could not be found.  
Not yet.


	14. Chapter 13- Three Pieces

Smitty watched the black sports car shoot off down the road, quickly vanishing into traffic.  
“What the _fuck_?!”  
He shouted to the wind before turning back toward Brock, the eagle-wing still sitting on the ground from where Smitt had shoved him out of the way.  
“Why didn’t you move?!”  
He yelled at Brock, adrenaline making his wings and fingers twitch.  
“He wouldn’t have hit me,”  
The eagle said, looking up from the sidewalk to make eye contact with Smitty,  
“We could have stopped him.”  
“Are you kidding me?”  
The dove-wing snapped, his hands balling into fists,  
“If I hadn’t shoved you out of the way, you would be splattered across the front of that fucking car!”

“What is going on?”  
Marcel called out, running out from the garage. Smitty shouted,  
“I just saved Brock’s _life_! Evan was going to run him over!”  
“No, he wasn’t! He would never hit any of us!”  
The eagle still hadn’t stood up, but he was glaring at the two above him.  
“Was he driving a car toward you?”  
Marcel pressed, cocking a brow at Brock.  
“W-well yes, but-”  
Marcel cut him off to turn toward the dove.  
“Thank you for protecting him.”  
“You’re welcome,”  
Smitty huffed, crossing his arms and fluffing his wings.  
“But, I also agree with Brock.”  
“What?!”  
“Thank you, Marcel!”  
“Evan would never run any of us over. So we just need to figure what drove him that far.”  
Both Omegas fell quiet at the Alpha’s comment.  
The dove sighed, reaching out to pull the eagle-wing to his feet.  
The eagle took his hand, and the dove gave him a small smile when he was on his feet.

“I guess we should start with Jonathan,”  
Smitty sighed, running a hand through his hair.  
“But shouldn't we try to find Evan?”  
Brock asked, his gaze desperate as he looked at Marcel.  
The Alpha shrugged,  
“How fast was he going?”  
“Pretty fast…”  
Smitt sighed.  
Marcel sighed and pinched the bridge of his nose.

“Well if he was going fast enough, we either find a wreck or he’s almost out of the city. If you want to go searching, fine. I’m going to tell the rest of the gang.”

Marcel turned to head back into the base, not waiting for an answer from the Omegas.  
Brock huffed, running a hand through his hair and fluffing his wings.  
“I’m going to look. There’s too much traffic for him to have gotten far. Are you coming?”

Smitty stared at the eagle-wing and bit his lip.  
He never liked missing a meeting, as he hated not being in the loop, but he couldn’t leave Brock alone.  
Especially if they only found a wreckage.  
He didn’t deserve to be alone for that.

“Let’s get going,”  
He said flatly, opening his wings. Brock gave him a nod, then ran down the sidewalk to get some wind beneath his feathers before he took off.  
Smitty was quick to follow, and the two set off in the direction Evan had gone.

They were only searching for about seven minutes when they found the car.  
Not wrecked, thank god, but also not moving.  
And in the middle of a median.  
Brock landed first, Smitt landing beside him.  
A faint, terrified pine scent clung to the inside of the car, but the door had been left open for long enough to nearly completely air it out.

“He’s not here,”  
Brock said quietly, his wings drooping.  
Smitt sighed, then placed a hand on the eagle’s shoulder.  
“At least we know he didn’t get into a wreck, and if he’s on the streets we can trust that he can hold his own for a while. He was a gang boss for a few years for a reason.”  
Brock looked at the Bugatti for a moment longer before turning toward Smitty.  
“His antlers had just shed, and I doubt he brought any firearms with him. I don’t think he’ll last as long as you hope.”

Smitty closed his eyes, trying to keep his temper from flaring too much.  
“Well, we don’t have much to go off of right now. So let’s return to the base, and talk with everyone else. Then, with what we know, we will find him. Alright?”  
Brock was quiet for a couple of seconds before nodding.  
“Alright. How do we get the car back?”  
The dove-wing shrugged,   
“Well, I don’t mind driving it. It looks like it’s still in good shape.”  
“Okay. Thanks, Smitt. I’ll fly back.”  
“You sure?”  
“Yeah. I need a moment to myself.”  
“...okay. Stay safe Brock.”  
“You too.”

The dove-wing watched the eagle take off with a few pumps of his chestnut wings, then turned his attention to the car beside him.  
The keys were still in the ignition, in fact, the car was still running from when Evan had ditched it.  
He climbed in, glancing at the half tank left in the Bugatti before glancing at traffic running the other direction.  
He’d have to manage to get in that lane somehow.

Smitty sighed, slamming his head into the seat behind him.  
The guys owed him for driving home in this traffic.  
Especially Evan.

***

Jonathan was awoken by a knock at the door, and opened his eyes to an empty bed.  
He briefly wondered where his mate had gone before realizing he was probably downstairs eating breakfast.  
He checked the clock as the door opened.  
9:30 am.  
Hey, that was actually a decent time to wake up!

“Jonny?”  
The blue-jay perked up at the sound of Tyler’s voice.  
He spoke carefully and guarded, and it made Jonathan’s feathers twitch uneasily.  
Something was wrong.  
“What’s up?”

He yawned, trying to play off his worry as the Alpha said,  
“Can you come to the living room? We’re having a gang meeting.”  
Jon gave him a smile and a nod, and the longhorn left with a click of the door.

The Omega took a deep breath of the room, trying to figure out how long Evan had been gone.  
It was faint, but not too far gone. He’d guess maybe one or two hours.  
Hm.

He kicked the blanket off his legs, standing up and stretching his wing.  
If he closed his eyes it felt like he was stretching both of them.

Jonathan stepped into the hallway and was met with his mate’s scent, much stronger than it had been in the room.  
And it was anxious.  
The pine trees that made up his mate’s scent smelled like they were watching chainsaws come closer to their branches as a heavy wind tore at their needles.  
It made Jon’s skin crawl.

He hurried down the stairs, trying to tune into the mumbled voices he could hear in the kitchen.  
However, they stopped talking right as he was about to make out the words.  
Jon didn’t have to focus on the scents to know everyone was tense; it clouded the open room so heavily Jon was surprised he couldn’t see the fog of anxious scent.  
He did see it in the tapping feet and the wings pressed tight against bodies.  
All of their attention turned to him.

Jonathan swallowed.  
Tyler looked like he was teetering on sobbing and punching someone.  
Brock was the one who spoke.  
“Evan ran away.”

...  
Oh.  
That's why everyone was acting like this.

Jonathan couldn’t move.  
Couldn’t breathe.  
His legs collapsed beneath him before he could process what felt like the floor opening up beneath him.  
His stomach had plummeted all the way to hell itself.  
He couldn’t think, the same words echoing endlessly through his mind.  
 _“Evan ran away.”_

He saw Smitty come closer and try to comfort him, but he pushed himself away from the dove.  
He didn’t want to be touched.  
He needed Evan.  
He needed his mate.  
He could see members of the gang talking to him, but he couldn’t hear their words.  
He was in shock, he was sure of it.  
He didn’t really care though.  
The gang was beginning to crowd him and he tried to scramble away from them.  
He needed space.  
He heard himself mumbling a low repeated,  
“ _No… no please no…_ ”  
As he shakily pushed himself to his feet, nearly tripping over himself as he tried to run from the comforting grasps and whispered reassurances.  
He didn’t want to hear them.  
Didn’t want them to touch him.

His mate was gone.  
If they got too close, would he lose Evan’s scent?  
Would their words cover up his mate’s voice in his memories?  
He didn’t run up the stairs, but he wanted to.  
He was trembling too bad to climb.  
Tyler managed to get everyone to back off, giving Jonathan the breathing room he needed.  
He looked up at the Alpha.  
He needed Tyler.  
Fuck.  
He needed _someone_ to hold him and comfort him right now, and if Evan wasn’t here, he wanted Tyler.  
But the gang didn’t know about them.  
Couldn’t.  
Not yet.

The gang was talking again, and Jonathan tried his best to listen in.  
He needed to talk to Tyler.  
Alone.  
Somehow.

Marcel was speaking,  
“-to figure out why he ran. Maybe Jon knows something? Heard him mumbling something last night?”  
“It’s our only lead,”  
Brock said quietly, casting a glance at Jon before looking back at Tyler.  
Jonathan opened his mouth, his voice refusing to leave his throat until he cleared it.  
And even then, it was weak and fragile,  
“Ty, can I talk to you? In private?”

The voices fell silent at his question, and Tyler turned and gave him a broken smile.  
“Sure, let’s go to my office.”  
He moved toward the jay-wing and offered a hand to pull Jon up, and the Omega took it with a shaking hand.  
Tyler hauled him to his feet, and the gang made a gap for the two to walk toward Tyler’s office.

As soon as the door closed, Jonathan collapsed into his arms, holding onto Tyler like his life depended on it.  
He felt Tyler hold him too, giving Jon a soft squeeze as sobs began to patter out of the Omega’s throat.  
“I want him back,”  
The words crawled out of him with no resistance as he wept in the Alpha’s arms,  
“I _need_ him back.”

“I know,”  
Tyler soothed, his own voice strained with emotion,  
“Me too.”  
They held each other for several minutes, eventually sinking to the floor and Jonathan crawling into Tyler’s lap.  
He wrapped his wing around them like a shield, and the longhorn gently rocked them to the beat of their hearts.  
Jonathan found his nose against Tyler’s scent gland in the crook of his neck, taking deep breaths of the crashing ocean that surged around him.  
He found himself soothed by it a lot more than he expected, and he sent a silent gratitude to the heavens above.  
He wasn’t sure what he would do if he didn’t have Tyler.

Eventually, Jon glanced up at the longhorn. He was still rocking them, his eyes squeezed shut as tears ran down his cheeks.  
The sight broke Jon’s heart.  
He shifted ever so slightly, moving just enough to kiss the tears away.

Tyler blinked from wherever his mind was, glancing down at Jon in surprise.  
The Omega smiled softly, then pressed another kiss to his cheek.  
“Thank you. For being here,”  
He whispered, leaning against the Alpha’s chest.  
“No, thank you,”  
Tyler purred, although it didn’t hold the usual warmth in it.

They sat in the quiet for a bit before Jonathan finally whispered,  
“Why?”  
Tyler scoffed, but his voice held the crackle of more tears.  
“I was hoping you’d know.”  
Jon shook his head, then nuzzled further into Tyler’s chest.  
“...We’ll get him back, right?”  
Tyler pressed a kiss to his hair.  
“Of course,”  
He spoke gently,  
“We’ll get him back.”  
His fingers traced over Jon’s wing, and the jay let out a fractured hum.  
He wasn’t sure how long he could last without his mate.

***

A figure’s hands were shaking as he paced the inside of the deteriorating building, trying to focus on the other end of the line.  
“N-no I don’t know where I am. I ran into the alleyways and-and I don’t know what to do.”  
His feet hesitated as the other voice spoke, and he turned to look out the broken window.  
“Outside? Are you sure you won’t get spotted?”  
He hummed at the soothing tones on the other end, then nodded,  
“Okay. I’ll see you soon.”  
He hung up, then slowly slunk outside the bashed down door.  
The sun was nearly in the middle of the sky.  
His legs felt like they didn’t want to hold him much longer.  
He flinched at every sound, terror running through his veins.  
He couldn’t be found.  
He couldn’t be caught.

He could eventually hear wingbeats, and he could feel the panic thrumming through his body as he tried to find the source.  
When he spotted the brown wings and pink hoodie, he let out a breath he didn’t know he was holding.  
He waved at the Omega, and she soon landed beside him.  
“You okay?”  
She asked, worry edging her voice like an ugly knife.  
“I’ve been better,”  
He chuckled darkly, trying to hide his trembling fingers,  
“Are we going back?”  
The other Omega smiled and nodded toward the sounds of the road on the other side of the building,  
“The car followed me here, they’ll get us back safe.”  
He nodded, then gave the other Omega a smile,  
“Thank you.”  
She smiled, beginning to walk toward the sounds of traffic,  
“No problem. Now let’s get you out of here, Evan.”


	15. Chapter 14- Night Terrors

**Notes for the Chapter:**

>  **WARNING** :   
> This chapter is _Very_ angsty. This chapter is the reason I raised the rating to Explicit.  
> (TW: blood/ dying)

The sky was rimmed with gold, the sun leaving a disk of molten roses where it sank into the ocean. Deep blue and purple dripped over the remains, eventually coating the scarlet and amber to drench the city in nighttime's embrace.  
Stars glittered between wispy clouds, but their gazes felt distant and frosty.   
The moon’s usually friendly and silvery face was half draped in darkness, and the other half that could be seen felt like a glare.   
A stare into the city and its inhabitants, the goddess wishing harm to all those who stood in the baths of neon lights or stared out of windows.  
Her moonlight filled those beneath it with shame and guilt.  
An Omega leaped off a roof, their wings catching them for only a moment before the searing silver light scorched their skin and they plummeted.  
Their body fell beside their flight feathers.

Tyler stared out at the city, though he didn’t know why anymore.  
The sun had long since set, and the lights of the buildings had been flashing and inviting strangers to come together.  
At one point he had been looking for Evan, but he knew he wouldn’t be able to clearly see the Omega from this high up.  
Now it was too dark to determine anything other than shadows on the sidewalk.  
So why was he still staring out the window?

There was a sniffle and a whimper behind him, and he turned to look at his boyfriend.  
Jonathan was curled into the nest he had made, his cooes and twitters shaking as he twitched in his sleep.  
The Alpha stood from the window sill, placing a calming hand on the blue-jay and strengthening his scent slightly.  
“Jon, it’s okay. It’s just a nightmare.”  
The Omega stirred at his words, but didn’t wake up.  
He began to Omega Whine, and Tyler felt the hairs on the back of his neck stand up as he let out a low snarl.  
His inner Alpha started chanting something about _protect protect protect_ but he shoved it down to give the Omega a gentle shake.  
“Jonathan! Wake up!”  
The jay-wing tried to fight Tyler off, then sat bolt upright.  
His eyes were wide, and his chest was heaving.  
That was the third night terror since the sunset.  
He looked up at Tyler, then glanced at his hands.  
They were shaking worse than when he had almost caught hypothermia last winter.  
“It’s just a nightmare,”  
Tyler soothed, trying to purr but failing.   
His throat was too dry.  
Jon didn’t seem to notice though, as he curled tight against Tyler when the Alpha crawled into the nest.  
“I s-s-saw Ohm… he-he killed Evan…”  
“Shhh… it’s okay. I’m here.”  
Tyler held the blue-jay close, rocking them to help the Omega forget his nightmare. He wrapped his scent around them, drowning the frightened lavender and vanilla and hoping that would be enough.  
He knew this wasn’t going to be the last night terror though.  
He knew what happened to separated mates.  
He remembered how drained and lost Craig became when they broke up, and that was with Tyler still nearby.  
They didn’t know where Evan was.  
The Alpha hoped it wasn’t as bad as when he and Craig broke their mate bond.  
He didn’t want Jon to feel like a piece of himself was torn off and crushed beneath a truck.  
Like it had been dipped in gasoline and caught aflame as it was beaten with a baseball bat.  
He hoped that Jonathan wasn’t experiencing that pain.  
He really, really fucking hoped he wasn’t.  
If he was, and Jonathan wasn’t going through his Heat, then that would mean Evan was…  
No.  
This was just Mate Separation pains.  
Evan was alive.  
Tyler was sure of it.

Eventually, Jonathan fell back asleep, but the longhorn didn’t bother with getting out of the nest again.  
His eyes were dry and his limbs were heavy.  
He knew he was tired, but his mind wouldn’t stop.  
He might as well go over what they knew one more time.

They had found Evan’s shed antlers in the room, and Tyler and Jonathan had shared a thought that maybe he had left to go get surgery? But he would have told them first, right?

Brock had said he looked like a wild animal, scared and twitching until he made a run for it and nearly hit the eagle with their fastest car.

Smitty had said they found the car in the middle of a median, no Evan in sight.   
When the gang returned to the scene, they followed the scent trail into a building, and then back to the road before it was gone.  
There was a faint orange and clove scent, which Tyler recognized as one of the Misfits, but when he called them no one answered.  
He said he would visit them tomorrow.

That was it.  
A fear-scent filled hallway, a muddy car, and a pair of shed antlers.  
That was all that was left of his boyfriend.  
Of Jonathan’s mate.  
Tyler sighed, forcing his eyes closed as he took in Jonathan’s scent.  
He let the Omega's scent wash over him, soothing his nerves and making his inner Alpha content.  
It had been a while since he held an Omega like this.  
It had been even longer since he was in an Omega’s nest.  
It made his Alpha happy, but it made his heart hurt.  
He knew Jonathan was clinging to him because his inner Omega needed his mate to calm him, and without Evan, it took the next best Alpha.  
Well, Evan wasn’t an Alpha anymore, but Jonathan’s inner Omega didn’t care right now.

Tyler cracked his eyes open to peek at the blue-jay, watching cerulean feathers twitch before the Omega nestled closer to Tyler.  
He sighed and closed his eyes again.  
His mind began to drift, the warmth of Jonathan beside him helping sleep drag him away.

*

He could see Evan, smiling and standing in front of Tyler with dark wings the color of his hair. Jonathan was beside him, laughing and smiling as he spread both of his azure wings.  
Tyler was smiling too until there was a gunshot.  
Evan’s eyes widened and crimson bloomed across his chest.  
“Evan!”  
The longhorn screamed, reaching out for the bleeding Omega.   
Evan looked up with terror in his mocha eyes, his legs crumbling beneath him until he slumped lifeless to the floor.  
“No, no!”  
Tyler whimpered, turning Evan around so he was lying on his back.   
“Evan, Evan please!”  
Tyler shook his boyfriend, but the dark-winged Omega’s skin was already cold to the touch. His irises had faded away to a gray, staring unseeing into the sky.  
Blood covered Tyler’s hands.  
Tyler could feel hot tears leaving marks on his cheeks.  
“Evan…”  
His whimpering was cut off by a scream, and the Alpha looked up to see Jonathan being held by a hooded figure.

“Jon!”  
He called out, and the hooded figure gave an unnatural smile that nearly reached his eyes.  
With a slice of his knife, one of Jonathan’s wings fell to the ground.  
He let out a scream that shook Tyler to his core.  
He knew that scream.  
He had heard that scream through a headset while he was staring out at a stormy city, leaning heavily on crutches as tears pricked his eyes.  
His knuckles throbbed after he had punched the glass.

The hooded figure let out a sickly laugh, slicing off Jonathan’s other wing before putting both of them on and flying away.  
He was gone before Tyler could stop him.  
The longhorn ran to Jonathan’s side, the Omega whimpering and twitching in the Alpha’s arms.  
“Jonathan! Stay with me!”  
He yelled, trying to stop the bleeding with his shirt as the Omega thrashed weakly.  
After he had bandaged the blue-jay, Jonathan croaked out,  
“Tyler… Tyler…”  
He repeated the name like it was the only thing his lips knew how to say.  
“I’m here,”  
Tyler promised, pressing his forehead against Jonathan’s,  
“I won’t leave you.”

He knew he was still crying.  
He knew Jonathan was crying.  
Rain was thundering around them, soaking their bodies.  
He felt the Omega grab a fistful of his shirt, and he whispered into Tyler’s ear,  
“Let me die.”  
Tyler blinked in shock, and even the rain stopped.  
The Alpha looked down at the Omega in shock.  
“W-what?”  
But it was too late.  
Jonathan’s blue eyes had faded to silver.  
His chest didn’t rise and fall anymore.  
“Jonathan? Jonathan!”  
His cries fell on deaf ears.  
Tyler let out a sob as lightning lit up the corpses in front of him.  
Thunder roared as he cried until his throat was sore.

*

Tyler sat up with a start, taking in a desperate breath as he tried to remember where he was.  
Jonathan made a soft twitter in his sleep, and Tyler turned toward him.  
 _You’re alive._  
He sighed, releasing a breath he didn’t know he was holding.  
He leaned closer to Jonathan, taking lungfuls of the Omega’s scent to drown out the rain that had tainted his nose.  
Bleached hair flashed behind his eyes and the longhorn winced.  
He relaxed into the nest, staring out the window at what little he could see of the city.  
Glints of lights and flickers of neon.  
He thought he could smell bubblegum-flavored vape for just a moment, but it was gone as soon as it had come.


	16. Chapter 15- High Discovery

Sirens wailed beside a building, picking up the body of a crumpled Omega and hiding it away in a body bag.   
Their morgue was going to be full in two days at this rate.  
Feathers littered the crime scene, a few of them whisked away by the wind of the traffic.  
One of the Omega paramedics itched a few of her feathers as she frowned at the corpse. It didn’t look like a suicide, the feathers had fallen out, they weren’t plucked.  
She sighed, looking into the pale blue sky.

Puffy opal clouds were settled along the skyline, birds scattering in a flock from wherever they were disturbed.  
A car shot past, definitely going over the speed limit.  
She glared at it, but didn’t do anything.  
That wasn’t her job.

The silver truck eventually slowed a little when it came up to a traffic jam it couldn't pass.  
The driver impatiently tapped his fingers on the steering wheel.  
“Fucking morning traffic…”  
He huffed under his breath, leaning back to glance at the guy in the passenger seat.  
He was leaning on his hand as he stared out the window, eyes flicking across the people on the sidewalk and the signs on the storefronts.  
He hadn’t spoken since they had gotten in the car.  
The driver held in a sigh, turning toward the car in front of them that hadn’t moved yet.  
 _Come on Marcel, you need to talk to the guy._  
He closed his eyes, then like walking on a verbal tightrope, cast out,  
“Tyler, are you okay?”

The longhorn sat up and glanced at Marcel, but didn’t hold the deer-horn’s gaze long. He managed a small smile before turning back to the window.  
“Yeah. Just a bit stressed.”  
The deer scoffed, letting the truck roll a little closer to the car ahead of them.  
“So are you going to tell me what’s actually wrong?”  
Marcel pressed, glancing at Tyler with a cocked brow.  
The other Alpha was quiet for a long time before he turned to the deer-horn.  
“You can’t tell the rest of the gang.”  
The deer-horn blinked in surprise before mumbling,  
“What?”  
“You can’t tell them what I’m about to tell you. I trust that you can do that.”

Marcel scanned the longhorn’s face.  
He was tired, so tired and sad that it hurt the other Alpha to see his friend like this.  
“Of course. I won’t tell a soul.”  
Tyler nodded, then turned to stare at his hands.  
“I’m dating Evan. And Jonathan. And with Evan running off like this…”  
Tyler trailed off, his hands beginning to shake in his lap until he clenched them into fists.  
“It’s hard. It’s… It’s _really_ hard. And Jonathan is going through Mate Separation and there’s nothing I can do but hold him and tell him it’ll be okay. And now I’m not even with him right now. He could be having another nightmare that he can’t wake from, and when he wakes up he’ll think I left him too and-”  
“Woah woah woah! Calm down, Tyler. We aren’t going to be gone long, and then you can go be with him, okay?”  
The longhorn hesitated, but eventually nodded,  
“Okay. I just hope that the Misfits have something on Evan.”  
Marcel sighed,  
“Me too.”

***

When they reached the Misfits base, Tyler had calmed down a bit more and could hide his worry a bit better, at least enough that he hoped the Misfits wouldn’t notice.  
They knocked on the door, and Zuckles was the one who answered, his bright red wings tucked messily behind them as he looked at them curiously.   
Over his shoulder, he shouted,  
“Were we expecting the BBS?”  
Tyler heard Fitz yell from somewhere inside,  
“Yes, Mason! We told you this!”  
The cardinal-wing’s face shifted from confused to laughing,  
“Oh yeah!”  
As he left the door open and walked away.  
Marcel rolled his eyes at the kid, and as they stepped in, they were both immediately hit with the smell of weed.  
Right. They were the drug dealers for their part of the city.  
The deer-horn tucked his nose into his shirt and shook his head.  
“Yeah… fuck that. I need to drive home and I’m doing it sober.”  
He turned around to head back outside, but paused to look at Tyler.  
“You gonna be okay by yourself?”  
Tyler nodded, taking a deep breath to calm himself and wincing at the heavy smoke.  
“I’ll be fine,”  
He coughed, Marcel giving him a nod before heading to the truck.  
Tyler turned back toward the base, Mason, and McCreamy sprawled across a couple of couches to his left. iNut sat across from them, all three scrolling through their phones instead of watching the tv that was in front of them. Swagger had smoke curling around his head at a dining table in front of him, but Tyler knew it wasn’t the sweet-smelling smoke John used to carry around at home.  
There were stairs that lead up above iNut’s head, with metal steps and banisters that made it easy to see the wall behind them.

Eventually, Fitz appeared at the top of the stairs, with Toby hot on his heels.  
“Tyler!”  
He said loudly, the gazelle hurrying down the steps to meet their guest,  
“It’s been a while since you’ve been here, and you didn’t explain much over the phone, what’s up?”

Tyler sighed, running a hand through his hair before shrugging,  
“To be honest, I’m hoping you know more than we do. Evan, or Vanoss, ran off yesterday. Just- completely vanished. We tried looking for him around our area, but we didn’t find anything.”  
Fitz listened to his words, then nodded slowly,  
“So you’re wondering if we’ve seen him? That’s a pretty far trip. Was he on foot?”  
“Yeah, he took a car but ditched it pretty quickly. We followed his scent into a couple of alleyways, but then it stopped.”  
Tyler paused, then said,  
“I’m not trying to say anything, but we did smell a couple of you’re guys there too. I don’t remember anything specific, but it was distinctly Misfits.”  
Fitz shifted his feet uncomfortably, and tilted his head,  
“Nothing specific?”  
“Maybe a bit of Tobi’s orange and clove, but otherwise just Misfits.”  
Fitz nodded, then he turned toward his mate who was still at the top of the stairs.  
“Tobi, did you head into BBS territory yesterday?”  
The Omega had been preening her feathers, but tucked them neatly behind her at the sound of her name,  
“Oh, I think I stopped a drug deal and gave them our card, otherwise no.”  
Tyler watched the wren-wing for a moment, then glanced at Fitz.  
“Can I use your bathroom? I think breakfast is arguing with me.”  
“Oh, of course! Tobi, can you show him to the bathroom?”  
The Omega gave Tyler a big smile, then waved the Alpha up the stairs.  
“Thank you,”  
He said to the other Alpha as he headed up.  
Tobi led the way through a hallway, then stopped at a door.  
“Here it is, let me know if you need anything else,”  
She said politely, and when Tyler gave her a smile and closed the door, he noticed that she didn’t move too far away from the bathroom.  
Something was up.

Tyler didn’t like suspecting their allies with kidnapping, and it didn’t look like there was a struggle where Evan and Tobi’s scents met, but he couldn’t crush the possibility.  
They had talked about Tobi when Evan came out, so maybe this was a trans thing?  
Tyler sighed, and turned to look in the mirror.  
Then a thought hit him.  
They had tried calling Evan dozens of times, but the Omega never answered.  
But at least it didn’t go straight to voicemail.  
Tyler slowly pulled out his phone, and tapped on Evan’s name.  
He didn’t hold it up to his ear though.

He listened as hard as he could.  
For something.  
He didn’t even know what rooms were where, or if there was somewhere else entirely Evan would be at if they had him.  
But then-  
He heard it.  
Evan’s ringtone.  
Faint, and behind a couple of doors, but there.  
Tyler smiled brighter than he had in days.  
He had found his boyfriend!

The ringing stopped quicker than usual, and Tyler felt his heart hesitate with his breath.  
Evan had stopped the ringing.  
If his phone had been taken from him, it would have either been turned off, or rang the full four times before going to voicemail.  
That meant…  
Tyler looked at his reflection again.  
He looked as indecisive as he felt.  
If Evan stopped the phone, that meant he was here.  
That he _wanted_ to be here.  
That he wasn’t ready to come home yet.  
 _Okay, Evan. You win._

He began typing out a message to his boyfriend, ignoring the hundreds of other texts he had sent the Omega.  
He hit send, tucked his phone in his pocket and flushed the toilet.  
Then he washed his hands, and opened the bathroom door.  
Tobi was gone, but he could smell her trail led off toward where he had heard the phone.  
He gave the empty hall a half-hearted smile, then headed downstairs where he bid Fitz and the others goodbye.

He could tell he was a bit high from all the smoke, but he felt he did the right thing.  
When he reached the truck, Marcel coughed and lowered the windows.  
“You need to wash those clothes when we get back.”  
Tyler scoffed,  
“I will. I don’t enjoy it much either.”  
They drove in silence for a bit before the deer asked,  
“Did they have anything?”  
Tyler nodded,  
“Yeah. They had Evan.”  
Marcel nearly crashed into the car in front of them.  
“What?!”  
Tyler turned to look at the other Alpha as the deer-horn stared at him in shock.  
“If you saw him, then why is he still over there? Why aren’t we taking him home? Why was he there in the first place? WHY are you not FREAKING OUT right now? How high _are_ you?”

The longhorn let the deer finish, then shrugged.   
“I don’t know how high I am, but I know it’s not enough to be worried about. And I didn’t see him. Just heard his phone go off when I called him.   
…  
I think he wanted to be there. For some reason. But I know he’ll come back when he’s comfortable.”  
The deer-horn was quiet for a long moment before sighing.  
“You’re definitely high. Or in some form of shock. I don’t know why he felt he trusted the Misfits more than us, but if you’re not going to freak out over your boyfriend trusting Fitz more than you, then fine. I won’t either.”  
Tyler was staring out the window again, watching the flashing neon signs splash the air with bright reds and blues.  
He smiled, and nodded.  
“Let’s keep this between us too.”  
He heard Marcel sigh again, but the deer eventually mumbled,  
“Whatever you say, boss.”

***

Evan held his breath until he heard Fitz bid Tyler goodbye and the door slam close.  
He glanced down at his phone, reading the newest text from Tyler.  
Right after the spastic _please call me_ , and _at least tell me you’re safe_ , it sat like a fat cat, pleased to have gotten attention from him.

_My love, I don’t know why you’re hiding, but I know you’re here. I heard your phone. I’m going to leave, to give you some space, but I hope you’ll come back soon. I know you hurt as much as Jonathan does.  
Don’t take too long though, I want to hold both of my Omegas close again._

Evan collapsed to the floor of Tobi’s closet, holding his phone close to his chest wishing he could send the touch to his boyfriend. Tears were flowing down his cheeks, but they had been doing so since he had heard Tyler’s voice ring out through the base.   
“I’m sorry Tyler…”  
He whimpered, afraid to let the phone go like it would vanish if he released it,  
“I’m sorry I’m not strong enough to text you back…”

Tobi ran in and immediately began shushing him, wrapping him neatly in her scent like a blanket.  
He wanted Jonathan _so bad_ , but his surgery was tomorrow, and the surgeon would only help him if they saw him with Tobi.  
He needed to be her little brother.  
Just for a few more days.  
No, that was too long.  
Just a few more hours.  
Then he could see both his mate, and his boyfriend.  
And he wouldn’t have his antlers anymore.  
Never again.


	17. Chapter 16- Me too.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Sorry for the late and sporadic posting, I'm trying to have a schedule but I have been swamped lately and keep forgetting to post.  
> I'm trying to be better, but because of your patience, I'm posting two chapters today!  
> Thank you for all the support on Tattered Wings, and please leave a comment about what you think so far!  
> -Echo <3 (Evil Author Man)

When Jonathan blinked awake, he looked blearily around the collapsed nest around him.  
A part of him wanted to rebuild it, but his focus quickly shifted to something else.  
The cold of the sheets beside him, and the dulling scent of the ocean.  
 _Where’s Tyler?_  
He sat up a bit more, his wing aching from the position he slept in as he searched for the Alpha.  
“Tyler?”  
He croaked out, his throat hoarse from the nightmares that haunted him the night before.  
When there was no response, his heart began to race.  
 _Did he leave me too?_  
Jonathan bit his lip and struggled out of the mess of blankets, taking in the empty room as his breaths quickened.  
“Ty?”  
He called out again, his voice hardly audible through the cracks.  
The blue jay winced as he tried to stretch his wing, the cramp tugging painfully against his shoulder as he rolled it.  
He took a deep breath of the faded ocean and followed it out the door.  
He would find Tyler at the end.  
He knew he would.

...but a part of him wondered if he wouldn’t.  
If he would find a trail that led to the garage and another taken car as the longhorn vanished into the city.  
They were losing their numbers quickly, and not only had they lost Lui, who had all the Canaries knowledge, but then Evan, and now Tyler.  
The Alpha of the gang and his second in command.  
Jonathan felt his hands quivering.  
Who would be the head Alpha now?  
Would they search for Tyler like they did Lui?  
Would they continue the search for Evan?  
A sharp pang struck his heart and he nearly cried out.  
Jon clutched his chest as he sank to the floor in the middle of the hallway.  
He felt like he was tearing his heart out and crushing it beneath his feet.  
Tears trickled down his face as he whimpered desperately.  
A puddle of azure feathers pooled around him, the usual bright blue looking a bit duller than usual.  
A part of him wondered if he was dying.  
Another part didn’t much care if he was.

A feeble scent of cherries and vanilla wrapped around Jonathan.  
Jonathan didn’t look up from the palms pressed into his eyes, continuing to weep as he smelled Smitty settle nearby.  
After a minute or so, Jon pulled his hands away from his face to glance at the dove, the other Omega leaning against the wall beside him.  
Jonathan sniffled, then shifted closer toward Smitty and slowly rested his head on the dove’s shoulder.  
They stayed like that for a while.  
Not talking.  
Sitting and absorbing one another’s scent.  
Jonathan knew he smelled of Tyler.  
Probably reeked of the Alpha, but Smitty still didn’t say a word.  
Jonathan was thankful for that.  
For him.  
He felt like he was a torn piece of paper that everyone else was trying to tape together, and when they thought he would be okay it was only torn and crumpled again.  
He felt useless.  
Like a waste of space.

But right now he was sitting with Smitty.  
He hadn’t spoken to the other Omega in weeks, and yet here he was.  
They were still a family.  
Still brothers.  
One with many scratches and bruises, but together all the same.  
Jonathan was dozing off when the scent of salt and waves hit his nose stronger than ever.

He blinked his eyes open to see Tyler standing above him, worry etched into his features as he looked at the two Omegas in the middle of the hallway.  
“Jon? You okay?”  
The blue jay felt Smitty flinch at the name, and glanced at the dove before turning to the Alpha.  
The white-winged Omega’s eyes were downcast, avoiding eye contact with either of them.  
“Y-yeah. I’m okay.”  
Jon said quietly as he began to wake up more.  
He managed to stumble to his feet and pull Tyler in for an embrace, taking a deep breath of the crashing ocean.  
There was a hint of weed that clung to his clothes.  
“I thought you were gone too.”  
He mumbled into Tyler’s shoulder.  
He felt Tyler hug him back, before pulling him away.  
Jon blinked in surprise, but Tyler was already facing Smitty.  
“Thank you Smitt, for helping him.”  
“Yeah, it’s no problem.”

The dove didn’t look at either of them, but he held a false smile on his lips for as long as he thought they could see him.  
Jonathan saw his expression darken as he walked downstairs.

“Babe, what happened?”  
Jonathan was torn from his thoughts as Tyler led them to the mate’s room, the concerned glint back in the longhorn’s eyes.  
“Why were you sleeping in the hallway?”

Jonathan opened his mouth to start, and all the emotions from that morning came flooding back.  
He couldn’t stop his tears if he tried.  
“Wh-where were you? Why do you-you smell like weed?”  
Tyler sat him down on the bed and rubbed a comforting circle on his back, holding the Omega close.  
“It’s okay… I just visited the Misfits to see if they knew anything about Evan.”

Jon paused, and glanced at the Alpha.  
“Did they? Did Tobi know an-anything?”  
Tyler opened his mouth, then closed it.  
He seemed to be thinking about something.  
He hesitated for about a minute before sighing,  
“I told Marcel we were together.”

Jon blinked.  
“Wh-what?”  
“He asked me what was going on between us, and I told him. You know I hate lying.”  
Jonathan felt his feathers twitch, but when he tried to move his wings closer, only one responded.  
“So…does anyone else know about us?”  
Tyler let out a breath, and when the Alpha spoke Jonathan thought he sounded relieved.  
“Smitty might, considering how I reacted when I found you two.”  
The blue jay nodded, then slumped back against Tyler.  
“I’m so exhausted. I just want all of this to end.”  
“Me too, Jonny,”  
Tyler purred, his scent increasing a pinch and soothing Jonathan,  
“Me too.”

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Thank you for reading!  
> Don't forget to comment, and read the second chapter that comes out today! <3


	18. Chapter 17- Mate Bond

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Thank you for reading, hope you enjoy this next chapter! <3

Tyler was nudged awake by a twitching Jonathan.  
He had his arms around the blue jay from when the two of them had fallen asleep cuddling, and now the jay-wing was whimpering and thrashing in his sleep.  
“Jonny,”  
He called out softly,  
“You need to-“  
Suddenly the Omega sat bolt upright, his lungs already filing desperately with air.  
“T-Tyler…”  
He whimpered, turning toward the Alpha as the longhorn sat up.  
Tears were already glistening in azure eyes.  
“S-somethings wrong with Evan. I-I don’t know how, but I know it.”  
“Well,”  
Tyler started gently, shifting closer to Jonathan so he could pull him into his lap,  
“That could be your mate bond. Have you ever noticed that when Evan gets upset you can feel it too? Or if he gets a headache you get the same one?”  
Jon nodded weakly.  
“That’s your mate bond. The stronger the emotion, the more your mate will feel it.”  
“S-so you think Evan is f-freaking out? Like me right now?”  
“He might be, but I doubt anything is wrong. He probably is just worried about us.”  
Jonathan was quiet for a moment before he shook his head.  
“No. It feels like-like he’s worried something is going to go wrong. Like he’s going to be found.”  
Jonathan paused for a bit before looking back up at Tyler.  
“How come I didn’t feel this when he ran away? Shouldn’t I have felt this? Shouldn’t I have known what he-he was feeling?”  
“Well,”  
Tyler began, looking out the window into the city below.  
The sun was just beginning to rise, her golden rays coloring the sky.  
“You were asleep, right? The feelings could have been portrayed into a nightmare, and anything you felt when you woke up you could have thought was your own emotions. I know it took me a while to recognize it when Craig and I were first mates.”  
Jonathan hummed, then asked,  
“Can I send him feelings back? Like to-to tell him we miss him?”  
Tyler smiled and pressed a kiss to Jonathan’s messy hair.  
“I bet so, why don’t you try?”  
Jonathan nodded, then closed his eyes.  
They sat in the quiet of the sunrise before Jonathan’s eyes widened and he took a deep gasp.

“Jonny? Everything okay?”  
He felt the Omega begin to tremble.  
“Jon?”  
He pressed, shifting so that they were facing each other,  
“I need you to talk to me.”  
A tear leaked down Jonathan’s cheeks before he turned his gaze toward the Alpha.  
“I think Evan died.”

“What?”  
Tyler felt his heart freeze.  
Jonathan’s bottom lip began to tremble.  
“Th-there were so m-many emotions and-and feelings and then it j-just… stopped.”  
Tyler stared at the Omega with a loss for words.  
He knew Evan was fine.  
There was no way- absolutely no way that he was gone.  
He was safe with the Misfits.  
He was alive.

“Maybe he just fell asleep. He can’t send emotions when he’s sleeping.”  
“No Tyler, th-there is no way he fell asleep while feeling all of- all of that.”  
Tyler pursed his lips and pulled Jonathan close as the jay began to weep.  
He couldn’t tell Jon where Evan was.  
No matter how badly he wanted to.  
He knew the Omega would spring up and drag Evan back home even if the other Omega was in the middle of surgery.  
So he couldn't tell him.  
Not yet.

“T-Tyler?”  
The Alpha glanced down at Jonathan and the jay sniffled as his cries weakened to whimpers.  
“C-can I ask you to do something for me?”  
“Anything.”  
Tyler purred, trying to comfort the Omega as best he could.  
“Can… can you mate me?”  
“What?!”  
Tyler released his hold on Jon, and the blue jay turned to look up at him with such an exhausted stare he was surprised those words had left his mouth.  
“Jon, what are you talking about?”  
“I-I can’t deal with this right now. I need some-something else to th-think about. Please?”  
There was a begging in the Omega’s eyes.  
Tyler felt drawn in by it, but he shook his head.  
“Jonathan, I can’t. Not right now. Neither of us are in a good headspace-“  
“That’s why we need to do this!”  
Jonathan shouted, and Tyler blinked at the sudden anger in his voice, but it quickly melted back into a desperate sorrow.  
“I can’t do this. I can’t handle everything right now. I-I just need something else to think about.”  
Tyler bit the inside of his cheek.  
“I thought you didn’t want to tell the gang yet.”  
“Marcel already knows. I’ve lost my ability to give two-two shits.”  
Tyler opened his mouth.  
He almost said “fine. If it’ll make you feel better.”  
But he held his tongue.  
He sighed.  
“Jon, I’m sorry but no. Not right now.”

Hurt flashed across the jay-wings face, but it quickly turned into a scowl.  
“Fine! Get out!”  
“What? Come on Jon-“  
“No! Shut up! I-I tell you that Evan is fucking _dead_ and you-you don't do anything? Why are you so calm, huh? J-just get the fuck out!”  
Tyler stared at Jonathan in shock and the Omega snarled before trying to shove him off the bed.  
“I-I-I said GET OUT!”  
Tyler stood up and walked toward the door, but he hesitated with his hand on the handle.  
The first orange light of the sun was shining into the room now.  
“Jonny-“  
“NO! SHUT UP! GET OUT!”  
Tyler sighed and left the room.  
When he shut the door behind him, he heard it lock.  
Not too long after he could hear Jonathan sobbing again.  
He closed his eyes and sighed.  
It took all the strength in his body to not turn around and punch a hole in the wall.

His inner Alpha snapped at him, told him to turn around and mate Jonathan right here, right now.  
But he knew that wouldn’t help anything.  
And he also knew that he wanted to mate Jon and Evan at the same time.  
They could wait for Evan.

Tyler sighed, glancing at the door as he heard Jonathan’s cries growing muffled as he probably tucked himself into a nest.  
He felt like he needed to do something.  
Anything, at this point, but nothing seemed like a good idea.

He could apologize to Jonathan, but the outcome would end up more or less the same.  
He could try to contact Evan, but if his assumptions were correct, the Omega wasn’t in a state to talk right now.  
He could vent to Marcel, or even Brock about his situation, but that wouldn’t do any good other than worry them.  
Tyler ran his hands down his face and stormed into his room.  
He grabbed his pillow and screamed into it.  
He glanced around the room for something to hit, to let out some steam on, but didn’t see anything.  
Then he remembered the thing in his closet.  
He had bought it after he and Craig separated, and every time he grew frustrated he would take out his anger on it.  
He pulled out the punching bag, and as soon as it was in a stable position, he wailed on it.  
He punched and hit the bag until his knuckles hurt, and even then he continued until they bled.  
He was panting, but at least the pent up frustration had dissipated.  
He grabbed a roll of bandages from his sock drawer and wrapped up his fists.  
He shouldn’t have hit it barehanded, but it was too late for that now.  
He slunk downstairs for some painkillers, ignoring the low throb he earned when he turned his doorknob.

When he hit the bottoms of the stairs, he nearly ran into a flurry of opal feathers.  
“Oh, sorry Tyler,”  
Smitty apologized, taking a big step back from the Alpha.  
“It’s fine, don’t worry about it,”  
The longhorn mumbled, moving out of the dove’s way.  
“Oh- um, actually…”  
Tyler turned back toward Smitt as the Omega rubbed the back of his neck nervously.  
“Is Jonathan okay? He seemed really out of it this morning.”  
Tyler gave him a small smile and nodded.  
“Yeah, he’ll be okay. Just Mate Separation.”  
Smitty nodded and offered up his own smile.  
“Okay. Thanks.”  
Tyler nodded as Smitty headed upstairs, ducking to the kitchen to grab some pills.  
When he found what he was looking for, he grabbed a cup of water and swallowed the two pills in one gulp.

The tv was on in the living room, so he moved to go watch it as he waited for the pills to hit.  
Marcel and Scotty were sitting on the couch, but neither were watching the screen.

The news was on, with a reporter talking as images of police tape flashed on the screen.   
“...this isn’t the only case Los Santos has seen of falling Omegas these past few weeks. In fact, there have been 7 deaths in the past week that all seem to have the same strange source: their flight feathers falling out. Hospitals are also reporting a sudden spike in Omegas losing their feathers, with as many as 30 new cases every day. We still don’t know what is causing this, but we will be keeping you up to date as we learn more information about these strange and sad events.”

The tv was flicked off, and Tyler blinked as Scotty and Marcel stood up and walked toward the garage as they debated where to get lunch.  
He stood behind the couch for a moment longer before remembering he had taken some meds, flexing his hand, and pleased when he didn’t feel the pain anymore.  
He plopped onto the couch, pulling up DoorDash to see what he could get delivered to him as his stomach growled.

As the longhorn lounged on the couch, a blue-winged Omega napped heavily in his nest.   
He twitched and twittered in his sleep, the tears on his face long since dried.   
On the other side of town, an ex-elk swayed as he stumbled toward a car.  
The pine that usually surrounded him was dull with medication and sterile bandages.  
A wren-wing held him steady until she secured that he was safe in the van.  
An Omega with duck wings tried to stabilize in the air before landing hard beside the ER doors.  
A few nurses ran out to help them as the van with the two Omegas drove off.  
The ex-elk fell into an easy sleep as they drove home, resting his bandaged head carefully against his headrest.  
The smell of oranges and clove wove like ribbons through the car.  
A few feathers twirled through the breeze as traffic hurried through the warm spring sunshine.  
A Beta in a hoodie paced in front of a skyscraper for a few minutes before sighing and walking away.  
The ocean crashed on the shore as a gray dove-wing stared at the glistening water.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Don't forget to leave a comment about your thoughts!  
> <3


	19. Chapter 18- Back home

The buildings in Los Santos glittered in the mid-morning sunlight.  
A flock of crows took flight across the sky.  
One of them destabilized before spiraling to the ground.  
There were no Omegas in the skies today, they had all seen the news the past few days.  
They didn’t want to end up a pile of feathers and bones like the others had.

A black van wove through the busier-that-usual traffic, glad to finally get moving after sitting in a jam for an hour and a half.  
The driver had her eyes on the road, but she couldn’t help stealing glances at the person in her passenger.  
His head was still wrapped from surgery the day before, and he was leaning heavily against his hand as he stared out the window.  
The radio played softly through the speakers.

Evan was drowsy.  
He had been stealing a couple of minute-long naps since they left the Misfits, but he wished he could sleep longer.  
 _I just have to get home_ ,  
He thought to himself, a headache beginning to bounce around his skull,  
 _And then I can sleep the rest of the day with my lovers_.  
He smiled as he watched the sky begin to billow with clouds.  
The sun could still show himself, but only barely.

“We’re almost there,”  
Tobi said suddenly, bringing Evan back from where he had been drifting off to sleep again,  
“Are you ready?”  
The Omega glanced at the wren-wing and nodded.  
He wasn’t sure if he was actually ready or not, but he knew he couldn’t spend one more moment away from his mate.  
And he desperately wanted to see the rest of his family again.  
It felt like it had been months, and yet it had only been 4 days.  
When they pulled up to the BBS base, Evan could feel anxiety stirring in his gut.  
He took a deep breath before opening his door.  
He needed to do this.

“Do you want me to walk you to the door?”  
Tobi asked as she got out.  
“Uh,”  
Evan chuckled, his head beginning to throb dully,  
“Nah, I should be fine. Thanks though.”

Tobi nodded, waiting by the car as Evan walked toward the front door.  
It had been a long time since he had used that door since they usually just left and entered the garage, but he didn’t want to see all those cars right now.  
Especially the Bugatti.  
The front door led to a normal-looking office space, with a receptionist desk, a couple of waiting chairs, and the elevator in the back.  
Everything was covered in a fine layer of dust, and Evan coughed as he entered.  
“Jesus, we should clean this at some point.”  
He coughed again as he pressed the up button to the elevator, waving the dust away from his face as he sputtered.

The elevator wouldn’t come until it was approved by the guys upstairs, so he leaned against the wall to wait.  
He didn’t expect the voice on the intercom to come as quick as it did.  
“Just leave the food by the elevator, someone will be down to pick it up.”  
The Omega smiled when he recognized Anthony’s voice.

“What food are you expecting? My bets on Chinese.”  
There was a long pause before the intercom clicked on again.  
“Evan? Is that you?”  
The Omega chuckled before replying,  
“Yeah man, it’s me. I didn’t feel like taking the garage.”

There was a ding, and Evan heard the elevator begin to make its way down to them.  
“Thanks, Anthony,”  
Evan called out, unsure if the Beta could still hear him.  
When the elevator door opened, there was a quiet,  
“I’m glad you’re back, Evan.”  
Evan smiled as he pressed the button to the main floor,  
“Me too.”

Evan tried to swallow his anxiety as the elevator climbed.  
Everything was going to be okay.  
He would come out to the gang, and if they didn’t accept him, he still had Tyler and Jon.  
He wouldn’t be alone.  
That’s what Tobi had told him, that first evening after scheduling his surgery.  
“ _As long as you know Tyler and Jon love you, you can trust that they’ll stand by you. They won’t leave you alone, even if everyone else turns their backs on you. You won’t be alone._ ”

When the elevator door opened, Evan didn’t know what to expect.  
The empty living room and kitchen were certainly not it though.  
When he stepped out of the elevator, he felt his heart fall a bit.  
He hadn’t been expecting a welcome home party, but maybe something a little more than nothing.

There was some stumbling from the Observation room, and when Evan turned to look, Anthony was standing outside of the room staring at him.  
“Holy shit…”  
The Beta breathed before rushing Evan and pulling him into a giant bear hug.  
Evan laughed as he was spun around, but asked Panda to put him down before his headache got too much worse.  
“I can’t believe you’re back! And… what happened to your head?”

Evan bit his upper lip, then asked,  
“Where is everyone else?”  
“Oh, um… I think Marcel and Scotty took Nogla to lunch, Brock and Brian left on a date for breakfast and haven’t come back, I haven’t seen Jon yet so he might still be in bed, I think I saw Tyler leave to go on a drive? And Smitty is playing Breath of the Wild in his room for the third day in a row.”  
Evan blinked in surprise before scoffing,  
“I’m glad you’re as up-to-date with everyone as usual. You haven’t been the only one working Observation, have you? I thought Nogla had the day and you had night.”  
Anthony shrugged,  
“I missed seeing the sun, so we switched.”  
Evan nodded, then motioned toward the stairs.  
“Well, I’m going to check on my mate and probably sleep for several hours, let me know when most of us are back-“  
Evan was cut off by a force slamming into him, and let out a startled yelp.  
The excited smell of lemon and creme quickly overtook his senses, along with the tang of iron that always clung to it.  
“Evan! You’re back!”

Brock pulled away from the hug, giving Evan a once-over before frowning at the bandages.  
“What did you do? That looks professional.”  
“I’ll explain once everyone else is here, I promise.”  
Brock nodded, his frown quickly spreading back into a smile as he wrapped Evan in another hug.  
“I’m glad you’re safe.”

“He ain’t gonna be fer much longer,”  
Evan flinched at the angry Irish voice behind him, and pulled away from Brock to turn to the eagle’s mate.  
“Brian, I know what you’re going to say-“  
“Ye almost hit me mate wit’ a fuckin car! And ye expect me te jus’ let ye get away wit’ that?”  
Evan swallowed before trying,  
“I know. I was in a really bad headspace and put Brock through unnecessary danger. I’m sorry.”  
He kept his voice calm and even, knowing if he got defensive it would only upset the pronghorn more. Brian glared at him for a few moments longer, then he sighed.  
“Yer fuckin lucky Brocky was so worried about ye. I woulda left ye to the Canaries or wherever the feck ye ran off to.”  
Evan nodded in acknowledgment, then turned back toward Anthony.  
“Like I was saying, let me know when everyone else gets back, then I’ll explain myself.”  
Anthony gave him a big grin and a “sure thing bud” before dipping back into the Observation room.

Evan bid Brock and Brian goodbye for now as he made his way upstairs.  
He could smell his mate already.  
Vanilla and lavender dancing around and pouncing on him like an overexcited puppy.  
His pine scent wasn’t back 100%, but he strengthened it just enough he could smell the scents beginning to mingle and tangle together, fitting back into one another like lost puzzle pieces.

When he opened the door to his and Jonathan’s room, he was met with a high pile of blankets in the shape of one of the biggest nests he had ever seen.   
Which, while impressive, made Evan’s stomach twist into knots.  
Jonathan must have been really distraught.  
He shut the door behind him, and immediately there was a growl from within the nest,  
“Tyler, if you don’t get-get the fuck out of here I might just k-kill you.”  
Evan blinked at the venom in his mate’s voice before quietly asking,  
“What happened?”  
Instead of an answer, he saw a mop of black hair and tentative azure eyes appear from the center of the nest.  
Upon seeing him, tears flooded Jon’s eyes.  
“E-Evan?”

He sounded so terrified.  
So unbelieving that it was him it sounded like he was speaking to a ghost.  
Evan offered his mate a sad smile and,  
“Hey, Jon.”

The jay-wing lept from the mound of blankets and threw his arms around Evan, dragging both of them to the floor as Jonathan wept into Evan’s shoulder.  
They both had their noses pressed against one another’s scent gland, absorbing each other’s scent and melting into it.  
Evan felt a bit bad that his still held a medical tang to it, but his worries were quickly washed away by Jonathan’s vanilla and lavender.  
He distantly wondered if he would develop a new scent with his pine when he started hormones.

When they eventually pulled away, Jonathan whimpered,  
“I-I thought- you were- I felt it you-you died how are you…?”  
Evan smiled and held Jonathan’s hand, pressing a kiss into his palm.  
“I didn’t die, I just went into surgery. I’m sorry you felt that.”

Jonathan’s eyes flickered toward the bandages wrapped around his head.  
“W-wait- you h-had surgery? Already?”  
Evan nodded and felt tears prick his eyes.  
“I don’t have antlers anymore.”  
Jonathan stared at the bandages for a moment longer before scoffing.  
“Th-that’s awesome, but… why did you run away? We could have helped you.”  
Evan opened his mouth to answer, but there was a knock on the door.  
From the other side, Evan heard Anthony call out,  
“Everyone is back, they’re just waiting for you in the kitchen.”  
“Thank you!”  
Evan called back.

Jonathan glanced between Evan and the door, and the wing-less Omega chuckled.  
“Let’s go downstairs, I’ll explain then, okay?”  
Jonathan frowned, but nodded.  
“Okay. B-but I’m not letting you go.”  
Evan smiled and stood up, offering his hand to the blue jay and pulling him to his feet.

They left the room holding hands and made their way downstairs.  
When Evan reached the bottom of the stairs, all of the conversations that had been going on fell silent.  
All eyes turned toward the bandaged Omega.  
He swallowed, and Jonathan squeezed his hand as they walked closer.  
“H-hey guys,”  
He started, offering the gang a smile.  
The only one of the newcomers that had a reaction other than shock was Tyler, and he just had a small smile on his lips.

“Um, I need to say a couple things. First, I really am sorry, Brock. I wasn’t thinking straight and could have really hurt you. You don’t deserve that.  
Secondly, I’m sorry I ran away without an explanation. Like I said, I wasn’t really thinking. I was panicking and overwhelmed and just ran off.   
And lastly, what the hell is this bandage for? Well-“  
Evan felt his throat close up.  
He had practiced this so many times.  
He needed to say this.  
“I’m second gender trans. I’m an Omega. I left and got surgery to get my horns removed. Hopefully, I start hormones soon, too.”

The kitchen was silent for a while.  
Evan squeezed Jonathan’s hand, and felt the blue jay squeeze back.  
Finally, Brock spoke.  
“No wonder you were so disappointed when your horns grew in.”

Evan chuckled, but didn’t realize how close he was to tears until they were already trailing down his face.  
Brock stood up and pulled Evan into a hug, Smitty hopping up to join him and Jonathan following suit.

Nogla stood up to join them next, followed by Anthony, Tyler, and the rest of the gang.  
It was a giant group hug, and Evan couldn’t drop the smile on his face.  
“Thanks, guys,”  
He mumbled into the crowded hug.  
“No more running away, okay Ev?”  
Nogla pressed,   
“We’re all here fer ye.”  
“We’re a family,”  
Smitty added, his tired smile just within Evan’s sight.

Evan gave them all a tearful smile.  
“Thanks, guys. Really.”

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> I have a couple things to say about this chapter:
> 
> 1.) anxiety/panic attacks are not deserving of an apology. You don’t need to say sorry for experiencing something you can’t control. Evan did because he thought his family deserved some sort of apology, and he didn’t realize he was having a panic attack.  
>  2.) I am aware of how long it takes to get a surgery done as a trans person. I am trans myself. I know it is unrealistic for Evan to get his surgery as soon as he did, but they are in a gang that deals with a lot of bribes, and this is fanfiction. I don’t think it needs to be perfect.
> 
> Anyway, thank you for reading this chapter.  
> It means a lot to me that so many of you are enjoying Tattered Wings as much as I am <3  
> -Echo


	20. Chapter 19- Tumbling

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Happy 2021!  
> Sorry that this is very late, but hopefully you'll still enjoy it!
> 
>  **WARNING** :  
> This chapter contains some heavy angst. Read at your own discretion.

Blue feathers twitched as Evan talked to everyone, answering any questions they had and laughing at jokes.  
Jonathan was glad his mate was home.  
Hell, he was _ecstatic_ that the other Omega was even alive!  
He had been so devastated over what he thought was Evan’s death that he may have said and done some stupid things to Tyler, but he was sure everything would end up fine.  
It had to.  
After everything they’ve been through together, all three of them deserved a break.  
Jonathan watched Tyler as the Alpha laughed, pulling Evan into a side hug and being extra careful of his bandages while the group talked about a topic the blue jay had long since stopped listening to.  
He was really grateful that Tyler had been there for him.  
And what did he do to show he was grateful? Be an ass toward the longhorn.  
He sighed.  
Tyler deserved better.

Eventually, the welcome party dissipated, and Jonathan let Evan drag him by the hand back to their room.  
Tyler was inside a moment later.  
“I can’t wait to sleep all cuddled next to you two,”  
The Omega purred, a tired smile pulling at his lips.  
“But it’s only just turned noon,”  
Tyler chuckled, holding Evan as the wing-less Omega hung around his neck.  
Evan pouted, turning to look at Jonathan,  
“Jonny, back me up here. Now’s a good nap time, right?”  
Jonathan opened his mouth to agree, but then another idea struck.

“A-Actually, why don’t we go to the roof? We can-can have our first date with the three of us.”  
“Oooh, I like that idea,”  
Tyler purred, pressing a kiss to Evan’s cheek,  
“What do you think?”  
Evan pouted at not getting the nap, but nodded.  
“Yeah, let’s do it.”

The three of them made their way to the roof, careful to avoid anyone else in the gang as they made it to their spot.  
They only had two chairs up there, so Jonathan sat on the floor of the roof (for about two minutes until Tyler pulled him into his lap).

They sat there together, taking in the gray sky as the sounds of traffic swirled beneath them.  
They were quiet for a bit before Jonathan asked,  
“So where did you go? When you-you ran away?”

Evan glanced at his mate, then shrugged,  
“To the Misfits. Tobi got me a surgeon that was welcome to bribes to get me in the next day,”  
Evan tilted his head and said,  
“I thought you knew that already?”  
Jonathan shook his head, but then turned to glance at Tyler,  
“Didn’t you go to-to the Misfits? I thought you said they didn’t h-have anything?”

Tyler was quiet for a while, biting his upper lip before beginning,  
“They told me they didn’t have anything, but I knew Evan was there.”  
“What?”  
“I called his phone while I was there and heard it go off, and then I left.”

Jonathan stood up, moving off of Tyler’s lap so he could face him properly.  
“W-Wait, you knew?”  
Tyler looked away from the blue jay and hurt blossomed in his chest.  
“Y-you knew Evan was safe, and-and at the Misfits, and you-you didn’t _tell me_?”  
Tyler shuffled his feet uncomfortably and said carefully,  
“I didn’t tell you because I knew Evan would come back on his own. I knew he wasn’t ready yet-“  
“I THOUGHT HE WAS DEAD TYLER!”  
Azure feathers were fluffed with fury, and the lone wing was outstretched aggressively.  
“I-I felt all of his terror and-and pain and when that all left yesterday, I thought he was dead. I thought _I_ was dying. And you just thought it would be better to-to not tell me?”

Jonathan’s voice cracked on the last word, and he could feel angry tears boiling to the surface.  
His gaze flickered toward Evan, who was clearly surprised and a bit groggy, and if Jonathan could feel anything through their mate bond, it was a pounding headache.  
The other Omega looked lost, and Jonathan didn’t blame him.  
His poor mate had to come home from surgery and come out to the gang all relatively at the same time.

But Tyler…  
When the blue jay turned to look at the longhorn, his icy gaze was on Evan.  
Oh.  
Of course.  
“It all makes sense,”  
Jonathan scoffed, holding his head in hopes of relieving some of the pressure of the incoming migraine,  
“I should have realized…”  
“What? What is it, Jon?”  
Evan’s voice was an exhausted concern.  
It almost made Jonathan feel bad for what he was about to say…  
Almost.  
“Well of course Tyler wouldn’t tell me. He claims he loves you so much, and I know you two made-made out before we had agreed to be a thruple, so of-of course he doesn’t actually love me.”  
Jonathan’s voice splintered, but he pressed on.  
“How could he love me? I’m just an emotional Omega who acts on impulse. I can’t handle the news that my mate is-is _alive_ and _safe_.”  
Jon turned his tear-stained face to Evan.  
“Tyler loves you. I know that. He-He loves you _so much_ that he wanted to shove me out of the-the relationship and be the only one for you.”  
Jon turned back to Tyler, taking steps toward the Alpha until he was shoving a finger in his chest.  
“You wanted to tear me and m-my mate apart. You only wanted Evan and I-I-I can’t blame you! So go ahead and say it. Say you-you never loved me and only wanted to replace me!”  
Tyler was staring at him wide-eyed now. His mouth was open but no words came out.  
Jon felt a hand on his shoulder and Evan’s voice,  
“Jonathan please, just calm down-“  
“Calm down? Are you k-kidding me?”  
Jonathan whirled around to his mate, his anger lashing out like a hungry snake.  
“You ran off without even telling me where you-you went, almost hit Brock with a car and you want _me_ to calm down?”  
Jonathan huffed, taking a step away from the two.  
“No. It-It’s fine. I’ll leave you two to mate each other. You’re are a much happier couple without me.”  
Jon started walking away from them, his wing twitching from where it was slightly open.  
His phantom wing begged to flap, to assist the other in taking to the skies where they couldn’t follow him.  
And yet here he was.  
Stranded.  
A sharp pain carved through his shoulder, and he hardly held back a cry.  
He took off running.  
He could hear Tyler and Evan call after him, but he didn’t listen.

He ran toward the door off the roof, but something called his attention much stronger.  
Pulled for him.  
Lulled him in.  
_You have wings_...  
It called.  
_Why not use them?_

Jonathan veered to the right of the door.  
His wings were fully open now.  
His feet were running faster.  
A raindrop splashed against his nose.  
“JONATHAN!”  
Evan called over the sounds of traffic, his voice tearing with hoarseness.  
The jay-wing shut his eyes as his feet hit the edge of the roof.  
When his next step met air-  
He fell.

His wings tried to flap against the wind, but only one made contact.  
His shoulder burned with the strain.  
“Fuck-“  
He whimpered, opening his eyes as he spun wildly through the air, his feathers getting tangled with each other as he tumbled.  
For a moment he saw Evan and Tyler up on the roof.  
It already looked so far away.  
They would be happier together.  
Without him.  
He was flipped back toward the speeding cars and concrete.  
His wing could hardly flap any longer as rain pattered the sidewalk. He was already sore and his feathers were tangled so bad it would take him an entire night to preen them correctly.  
He had about 4 seconds before he hit the ground.  
He shut his eyes.  
He didn’t want to see it.  
He just wanted to-  
**relax.**

***

“No. No no no no nonononononono-“  
“Evan, I need you to take a deep breath for me…”

Rain battered the rooftop.  
Evan could hardly breathe.  
His headache had evolved into a full migraine and he was desperately trying to force the two sides of his skull together that felt like they were pulling apart.  
He couldn’t look over the ledge.  
He didn’t want to see the cerulean feathers.  
He couldn’t.  
He wouldn’t.

“Evan? A-are you still with me?”  
Evan’s gaze flickered to his boyfriend, and he exploded.

“He’s DEAD Tyler!”  
Evan cried out, taking handfuls of the Alpha’s shirt and pounding weakly against his chest,  
“He’s fucking dead. And-and I killed him!”  
“N-no you didn’t. This is my fault, Evan.”  
Evan scoffed, shaking his head.  
His body still felt like it was in shock.  
He could still feel the radiating anger and hurt, but it was just traces now.  
Now, there was an even more terrifying blankness from his mate bond.

“I felt it. The-the betrayal. The pain. The impact on the fucking concrete. I felt it all through our mate bond. I know it’s not just you.”  
Tyler opened his mouth to say something, but all that came out was a cry.  
A broken, cracked, and crumbling cry into the sky as the rain began to pour from the clouds.  
Evan rested his head against Tyler’s chest as he began to sob.  
He felt Tyler hold him as the Alpha began to spew out apologies.  
Long tangled lines of “I'm sorry” and “this is my fault” all twisted together.  
Evan knew there was one thing Tyler absolutely did not want to do when they got together as a trio:

Get between Evan and Jon.

And he had done it.  
Done exactly what he had always told himself not to.  
And now-  
Now Jonathan was gone.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> <3


	21. Chapter 20- Bubblegum Smoke

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> What's that?  
> A decent time frame between chapters?  
> Amazing! (It won't last long lol)
> 
> Hopefully this makes up for the previous chapter?  
> Thank you for reading! <3

Smitty blinked at the body that was beneath him.  
Blood was seeping into the puddles on the sidewalk as the rain poured harder.  
His right shoulder hurt, like it had been dislocated.  
His left ankle felt sprained.  
Everything else felt more or less okay.  
He knew he was trembling like a leaf.  
It smelled like rain.  
He glanced up at the dark clouds above him as the precipitation fell onto his face.  
 _Why does it have to rain? Why right now?_

Bleached hair was flashing behind his eyes.  
This was the first time he had been outside in a rainstorm since that night.  
Blood was on the concrete then too.  
 _Focus Smitt, focus. I just need to-_  
 _ **“Relax.”**_  
Smitty froze at the words.  
He looked around at the crowd of people that was beginning to grow around him.  
No.  
There was no way…  
 _“Come on, don’t make me say it again…”_

“Are you okay?”  
“What happened?”  
“I-I’m fine! We’re fine.”  
Smitty snapped, waving off the concerned people as he looked back down at Jonathan.  
Blood was seeping from his head.  
His cerulean feathers were twisted so badly it almost looked painful.  
His right arm looked broken.  
The smell of the crashing ocean looked off his hoodie.  
“Fuck.”  
He whispered to himself, kneeling over the blue jay.  
 _“It’s going to be okay. He’s still alive.”_  
Smitty felt a jolt shoot through him at the voice, but he did check the jay-wing’s pulse.  
He was still alive.  
 _“We need to get him inside. The crowd will give us unneeded attention.”_  
Smitty nodded in agreement with the voice, shifting Jonathan’s limbs so he could carry the Omega before scooping him up.  
He was almost too heavy to carry for a moment, but then he grew lighter.  
Like someone was helping him carry the unconscious Omega.  
When he got to the door, he reached for the handle with a few feeble fingers, but the door swung open before he even touched it.  
He poked his head in and expected to see Brock or Marcel or someone, but the hallway was empty.  
 _“We need to get him to the Med Bay and then call Brock. He’ll know what to do.”_  
Smitty followed the voice’s instructions, gently laying the broken Omega on the table.  
The last time Jonathan had looked like this, he had two wings.  
And John was here.

Smitt swept away his dripping hair to pull out his phone.  
He texted Brock to come to the Med Bay, then blinked at the droplets that fell on the screen.  
It could have been rain, but the warm streaks that trailed down his face told him what it truly was.  
His hands were trembling again.  
 _“My love, you don’t need to cry.”_  
“Why?”  
Smitty croaked into the empty room, not looking up from his phone,  
“Why not?”  
 _“Because,”_  
The dove felt something left his chin, and he was met with green eyes.  
Eyes he had memorized long ago, and hadn’t seen in a year.  
Eyes that were framed with bleached hair and the smell of bubblegum vape swirling around him.  
 _“I never left.”_

“Smitty? I got your text. What’s going on-  
Oh my goodness…”  
He knew Brock had entered the room behind him.  
John had turned his green gaze from Smitty to the eagle-wing.  
The Alpha was still holding his chin.

“What on earth happened? Smitty, what happened?”  
Brock tugged on the dove-wing’s soaked hoodie and pulled him back to the bloody mess in front of them.  
“Are you okay? What is going on?”  
“I-“  
Smitty turned to look back at his boyfriend, but the Alpha was gone.  
The room was empty where he had just been staring.  
“I… don’t know.”  
Smitt turned back toward Brock as the Omega began to wipe the blood off of Jon’s head.  
“I just saw him falling and- tried to catch him.”

He had been leaning against the railing of the balcony.  
He had closed his eyes and taken a deep breath of the sky as the clouds threatened the storm above.  
When he had opened his eyes to go inside, a flash of azure had fallen past.  
He had only taken a moment to realize it was Jonathan before diving over the railing.  
As soon as he caught the other Omega, he opened his wings to catch the wind and slow down, but it was too late.  
They hit the ground fairly hard.

“Well, at least he’s alive.”  
Brock huffed, diping the bloody cloth in some warm water,  
“I don’t know what we would have done if he died.”  
Smitty nodded, watching the eagle’s movements in a daze.  
Brock paused suddenly before glancing at the other Omega,  
“Have you been vaping?”

There was a creak of a door.  
From the careful and weary steps Smitty guessed it was Evan.

“In here!”  
Brock called out, clearly thinking the same thing. However, when Smitty turned to see the owner of the steps, he froze.  
Tyler was shaking like a leaf, hitting his horns on the doorframe on his way into the room.

“Is he alright?”  
He pressed desperately, his wet clothes sticking to his body.  
Smitt felt a shiver go down his spine.  
He had never heard Tyler sound so scared before.  
“He should be fine. He probably has a concussion, and a broken arm. His feathers will take hours to preen, but at least his wing is fine.”

Tyler let out a breath, then crumpled in on himself.  
The Alpha began full blown sobbing in the MedBay, and it shook Smitty to his core.  
He kept muttering, “it’s all my fault” and “I let this happen”, and a few other phrases, but it was mostly gibberish.  
The dove was so confused.   
Of course Tyler cares about all of them, but he had never reacted like this...  
The Omega glanced at the tattered blue jay and bit his upper lip.  
 _He did smell like Tyler..._

Smitt sighed and led the Alpha toward a chair so that he wasn’t on the floor anymore, then turned toward Brock.  
“Is there anything I can do?”  
“Yes,”  
Brock sighed, focusing on Jonathan’s broken arm now,  
“Go find Evan. He needs to be here.”

The dove-wing nodded, and slipped out of the Med Bay.  
He headed upstairs to the bedrooms, but when he entered Evan and Jon’s, it was empty.  
The other Omega had just gotten home, shouldn’t he be in bed?  
He took a deep breath, finding and untangling the pine scent as it led back downstairs.  
It led to the elevator, and Smitty swallowed.  
He was on the roof.

He pressed the button to go up as soon as the elevator opened, tapping his foot as he waited for it to rise.

When the doors opened, he only had to take one step out before he saw the crumpled Alp- er- Omega.  
“Evan?”  
He called out hesitantly.  
The other Omega shifted slightly, sitting up from where he had been in a fetus position.  
Evan didn’t say anything when he glanced at Smitty, but tears were still dripping down his eyes.  
“Jonathan is in the Med Bay. Brock wants you there.”  
Evan hesitated, not even moving when he said,  
“He’s dead, isn’t he.”  
His voice was splintered and broken, and he didn't lift his eyes from where they had fallen back to the rooftop.  
Smitt clenched his jaw and said,  
“Not yet.”

Evan looked up at that, hope suddenly blazing to life in his eyes as he shakily stood up.  
“W-what?”  
“He’s still alive, Evan. Battered up pretty good, but alive.”  
 _He also reeks of Tyler,_  
Smitty thought to himself, barely able to hold back his tongue as Evan began stumbling for the door.  
 _One thing at a time. Let’s get the mate’s together before I accuse one for cheating._

“Let me help you,”  
He cooed to the other Omega, hurrying over to where Evan was shakily making his way down the stairs.  
He slung one of the ex elk’s arms around his shoulders and started leading him to the elevator, where they took it all the way down to the Med Bay.

When they arrived, Tyler seemed to have been shaken from his stupor and was glaring at Brock.  
The eagle had moved to preening Jonathan’s tangled feathers and didn’t seem too bothered by the longhorn, but the room also reeked of contention.  
The dove sneezed when they entered the room because of the heavy ocean salt, but Evan seemed to perk up a little from the heavy scent.  
The Omega hurried to Jonathan’s side, wary of the bandages wrapped around his head as he took a deep breath of the vanilla and lavender.  
Smitty offered the mates a small smile, glancing at Tyler and surprised to see a similar soft expression as he watched them.  
Smitt felt his stomach turn.  
Tyler really will just cheat with Jonathan and then pretend like he’s their friend.  
He shook his head and said,  
“I’m going to head out,”  
He turned to Tyler and nodded,  
“We should leave the mates alone, yeah?”  
Tyler blinked from his thoughts before shaking his head,  
“Oh, actually I’ll catch up. I want to check something.”  
Smitty sighed before shrugging and heading upstairs.  
He could talk to Tyler later if the Alpha wanted to lie to his friend’s faces.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> <3


	22. Chapter 21- Talking

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Thank you guys for your patience!  
> I’ve been caught between several different things that I want to work on at once, so updates might be a bit slower than usual. (I’m so sorry!)
> 
> I do have a new fix that I am updating alongside this, so check that out if you want something in the meantime!  
> <3

Brock watched as Smitty left, taking the bubblegum vape scent with him.  
When the dove left, he turned toward the longhorn in the corner.  
His shoulders were still shaking, and Brock could hear him taking gasping breaths as he wept.

He sighed and turned his focus to Jonathan again, dutifully wrapping the broken arm in bandages to help it stay in place before fitting it into a sling.  
By the time he had finished with that, Tyler had quieted stopped shaking.  
Brock glanced at the Alpha before asking bluntly,  
“Did he jump?”

Tyler glanced up in surprise at Brock’s question, but when he didn’t answer Brock pressed again,  
“Did Jon jump off the roof?”  
Tyler lowered his gaze, continuing his silence.  
Brock sighed and glanced at the door behind him.  
He knew Evan needed to be here.  
All three of them needed to be together,  
_Even if that’s how it was when Jon fell…_  
Brock bit his tongue.  
He shouldn’t ask.  
Tyler was clearly not going to tell him anytime soon and he doubted Evan would be in a state to handle this right now.

But…  
He was Head Omega.  
It was his duty to make sure all the Omegas were safe and taken care of because they weren’t as rough and tumble as Alphas were.  
And this…  
If what Brock thought happened did indeed happen…  
Well, he would help Jonathan.  
It’s what he did with Craig, and it’s why the pigeon-wing only does part time work with the Misfits now.

But first, he needed to know.  
“I need you to talk to me Tyler,”  
He attempted, taking his first step over the line that he hardly ever crossed,  
“What happened on the roof?”

Tyler huffed, and Brock could smell the Alpha’s scent pricking a bit stronger.  
“None of your business.”  
“I’m the Lead Omega. It is my business if one of our members might be suicidal.”  
Tyler finally lifted his eyes, and their icy depths held a flickering flame.  
“It’s confidential.”  
Brock’s auburn feathers fluffed up as he paused in tending to Jonathan.  
“Really? Confidential between the Head Alpha and his second-in-command? You realize that’s sexist, right?”  
Tyler snarled and stood up, but Brock held his ground.  
“May I remind you Evan is also an Omega.”  
“Then I am above him rank wise! There is no excuse you can make that will be justified, Tyler. Just talk to me.”  
The longhorn hesitated, then he growled,  
“I could derank you. I’ll end up mating both Evan and Jon anyway and that would raise them in the hierarchy just by being my mates.”  
Brock scoffed and opened his wings slightly. Tyler’s Alpha scent was growing annoyingly strong, so he strengthened his own lemon and creme to contend with the crashing waves.  
“I know Evan, he won’t usurp me. And Jonathan has only been in the gang for a year, that wouldn’t be the wisest idea.”  
“Ohm had only been in the gang for a year before he was promoted to Lead Omega.”  
“Ryan was only Lead Omega because he was manipulating Evan. And Evan had talked to me first, but I turned him down.”  
Tyler opened his mouth to continue, but no words reached his tongue.  
Brock shook his head as he settled his feathers back into place,  
“I’ve seen how Jonathan’s been acting since Evan left. And I thought you three would be able to talk it out when he came back, but it looks like I was wrong.”  
Brock chose his words carefully as he continued,  
“You three need to talk, and I know that all of you are too stubborn to do it on your own, so I’ll help where I can.”

Tyler looked like he wanted to argue (and smelled like it too), but he didn’t say anything, only nodding slightly as there was a commotion from the elevator.  
Smitty appeared helping Evan out of the elevator, the wingless Omega leaning heavily on the dove but perking up as they entered.  
Brock knew it was because of the heavy battle between Tyler and himself with scents, as even Smitty sneezed from it.  
Evan began to fret over Jonathan, and Brock let him as most of Jonathan’s injuries were taken care of. Smitty left soon after, giving Tyler a dirty look as he left.

With the dove gone, Brock turned toward the couple.  
“Evan, we need to talk about what happened on the roof.”  
The Omega froze from where he had been carefully petting Jonathan’s feathers, and looked up at Brock.  
He looked so tired.  
Like if he wasn’t standing right now, he would have collapsed into a chair and fallen asleep immediately.  
“Do we have to do this right now?”  
He croaked, and Brock was sure that if he had wings, they would be sagging heavily.  
Brock sighed, but nodded.  
“Yes. Otherwise, I know you guys won’t talk.”  
“We should at least wait for Jon, right?”  
Evan proposed weakly, but Tyler spoke up,  
“No, Brock is right. We should talk.”  
There was a beat of silence before Tyler spoke again,  
“I’ll start. As you know, I never wanted to get between you two. I’ve loved you for a couple months now and when I wanted desperately to get to know Jonathan better. But I told myself I wouldn’t get between you two. I cared about you both too much to ruin your relationship.”  
A pause hung in the air before Tyler clenched his hands into fists.  
“And I did it anyway. I didn’t tell Jon when I found you and it was my fault he- he-”  
The Alpha closed his eyes and looked away.  
He swallowed and shook his head.  
“It’s my fault.”  
His voice splintered and cracked enough that Brock winced.  
He hadn’t seen Tyler this distraught since he was going through Mate Separation from Craig.

Evan scoffed, then pressed a palm into his head.  
Brock was sure a migraine was tearing through the poor Omega’s skull.  
“None of this would have happened if I hadn’t run off. If I had-had stayed put and talked to you guys before running off and-”  
“It’s not as simple as that, Evan.”  
Brock shook his head and cut Evan off, the boyfriends glancing at him as if they forgot he was there,  
“It wasn’t just an ‘I’m going to run away now’. I saw you. You were freaking out so bad you looked like a wild animal, and I think that was an anxiety attack. One that spiraled so bad running felt like the only option. Does that sound about right?”  
Evan frowned, but he did begin to nod slowly.  
“So this isn’t something you can just say, ‘I wish I didn’t do that’, because you were so far inside your head there was nothing we could do.”  
Evan dropped his gaze to his feet as he listened, but when he opened his mouth to speak, Tyler spoke first,  
“So what do we do if it happens again?”  
Brock sighed and ran a hand through his hair,  
“That would be something to get a therapist for. Especially since you’re beginning to transition, you will need one.”  
Evan scoffed and said softly,  
“Can’t believe I’m in a gang and need a therapist.”  
Brock rolled his eyes.  
“Everyone needs a therapist. I had one before we ran from school, and she was really great. Maybe just tell them you’re self-employed,”  
He finished with a chuckle.  
Then, he turned toward Tyler.  
The Alpha seemed lost.  
“And Tyler, this isn’t your fault. Jonathan was clearly dealing with a lot and got overwhelmed, and did whatever happened on the roof because he felt like he was running out of options. So just, show him there are options. Ask him what is all sitting on his shoulders and figure out how you can take some of it yourselves.”

Evan was leaning into Tyler now, and the longhorn slung an arm around the Omega.  
Neither of them were looking at Brock.  
“A three-person relationship is possible, but difficult. That is two people you have to trust and communicate with instead of one. But, I also know if anyone can, you three can do it.”

Silence rang throughout the med bay, and Brock let the two think as he finished preening Jonathan’s feathers.  
Finally, Evan spoke,  
“Thank you, Brock.”  
The eagle glanced up with a smile.  
“No problem. Now, I’m going to finish up here, but you two should go upstairs and sleep.”  
Evan nodded, grabbing Tyler’s hand and beginning to drag the Alpha out of the MedBay.  
Tyler cast one last appreciative smile before he was gone.  
Brock sighed as he turned toward the sleeping Omega who twitched in his sleep.  
He mumbled something about bubblegum.


End file.
